Myopia Control Contact Lenses for Children in Singapore

Singapore has one of the highest myopia rates in the world. By the time a child reaches 12 years old here, there is roughly a 65% chance they are already myopic — and for young adults in their twenties, that figure climbs above 80%. For parents watching a child's prescription climb year on year, the question is almost always the same: is there anything that will actually slow this down?

Spectacle lenses designed for myopia control — such as DIMS, HALT, and MiYOSMART — have received a lot of attention in recent years, and for good reason. But another category of myopia control options is growing rapidly in clinical use: myopia control contact lenses. These are soft contact lenses or orthokeratology lenses engineered not just to correct vision, but to actively reduce the rate at which a child's myopia worsens.

This guide covers what the evidence says about myopia control contact lenses, which products are currently available in Singapore, when they are appropriate for a child, and what questions to ask your optometrist before starting.

What Makes a Contact Lens a "Myopia Control" Lens?

A standard single-vision contact lens corrects blur at the fovea (the centre of the retina) but does nothing about how peripheral light focuses. Research over the past two decades has shown that peripheral retinal defocus — specifically, when peripheral images focus behind the retina — drives the eye to elongate and become more myopic. This is called the "peripheral defocus" hypothesis, and it is the scientific foundation for virtually every optical myopia control intervention.

Myopia control contact lenses are designed to create peripheral retinal focus in front of the retina (myopic defocus) while still providing clear central vision. The theory is that this peripheral signal tells the eye to stop growing. Different lens designs achieve this differently, but the principle is the same.

There are two main categories:

Soft myopia control contact lenses — daily or monthly disposable soft lenses worn during waking hours. MiSight 1 Day is the most studied example.
Orthokeratology (Ortho-K) lenses — rigid gas-permeable lenses worn overnight that temporarily reshape the cornea. These are covered separately; this guide focuses on soft lenses.

MiSight 1 Day: The Most Evidence-Backed Soft Myopia Control Lens

MiSight 1 Day by CooperVision is a daily disposable soft contact lens and the first contact lens in the world to receive FDA approval (in 2019) specifically for myopia control in children aged 8 to 12 at the time of fitting.

How MiSight Works

MiSight uses a proprietary ActivControl optic design with four concentric treatment zones alternating between distance correction and treatment (defocus) zones. The central zone corrects distance vision clearly; the treatment zones create myopic defocus in the peripheral retina. The lens also has no inside-out indicator, making it easier for children to insert correctly.

What the Clinical Evidence Shows

The most robust evidence for MiSight comes from the BLINK Study (the Bifocal Lenses In Nearsighted Kids study), though that study examined soft bifocal contact lenses more broadly. Specific to MiSight, CooperVision conducted a three-year randomised controlled trial (Chamberlain et al., published in Optometry and Vision Science, 2019) tracking 135 children aged 8–12 against single-vision contact lens controls:

After 3 years, children wearing MiSight had 52% less myopia progression (measured by spherical equivalent refraction) compared to single-vision lens wearers.
Axial length growth — the physical elongation of the eye, which is the true marker of myopia progression — was reduced by 38% in the MiSight group.
When children who had worn single-vision lenses were switched to MiSight, their progression rate slowed to match the MiSight group within 12 months, while MiSight wearers who switched to single-vision lenses showed a rebound acceleration in progression. This washout analysis strongly supports the active treatment effect of the lens.

Six-year follow-up data presented at ARVO (the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology) conferences has shown that the myopia control effect is sustained over time — the treatment benefit does not diminish. Children who wore MiSight throughout the study ended the six years with meaningfully lower prescriptions and shorter axial lengths than the control group.

This is a level of evidence that very few myopia control interventions can match.

Who Is a Good Candidate for MiSight?

MiSight is generally appropriate for children who:

Are aged 8 years or older (the lower limit recommended by CooperVision; some Singapore optometrists fit younger children case-by-case)
Have myopia in the range of -0.75 D to -4.00 D (the range studied in the RCT, though off-label use outside this range is practised)
Are motivated and responsible enough to handle daily lens insertion and removal with parental guidance initially
Have parents willing to be involved in the hygiene routine, particularly in the early months

Children with active eye conditions such as significant dry eye, allergic conjunctivitis, or corneal irregularities may not be suitable candidates and require individual assessment.

Other Soft Contact Lens Options for Myopia Control

MiSight is not the only soft lens option. Several others are used clinically in Singapore, though with varying levels of evidence.

NaturalVue Multifocal (Visioneering Technologies)

NaturalVue is a daily disposable extended depth of focus (EDOF) lens originally designed for presbyopia but adapted for myopia control use in children. A retrospective study by Cooper et al. published in Eye & Contact Lens (2018) reported a mean myopia progression reduction of approximately 78% compared to historical single-vision controls. However, these results come from retrospective data, not a randomised controlled trial, so they should be interpreted cautiously alongside the MiSight prospective RCT evidence.

Soft Bifocal and Multifocal Contact Lenses

The BLINK Study itself — a two-site, randomised, masked clinical trial published in JAMA Ophthalmology (2020) — tested high-add (+2.50 D) and low-add (+1.50 D) soft bifocal lenses against single-vision controls in 294 myopic children aged 7–11. After three years, the high-add bifocal group showed significantly less progression than the single-vision group. The low-add group showed some benefit but less pronounced.

This study was important because it validated the peripheral defocus mechanism in a large, well-controlled trial. Biofinity (Multifocal) and other commercially available multifocal lenses are sometimes used off-label for myopia control in Singapore practices, though MiSight remains the preferred choice when on-label FDA-approved treatment is the priority.

How Myopia Control Contact Lenses Compare to Other Options

Singapore parents often ask how contact lens approaches compare to alternatives. The short answer is that all validated options are more effective than single-vision correction alone, and the right choice depends on the child, their prescription, their age, and their lifestyle.

Treatment	Efficacy (approx. reduction in progression)	Suitable From Age	Singapore Availability
MiSight 1 Day	~52% (axial length ~38%)	8+	✓ Widely available
Orthokeratology	~45–55%	8+	✓ Widely available
Low-dose atropine (0.05%)	~50–70%	4+	✓ Available via optometrists/ophthalmologists
DIMS spectacle lenses (MiYOSMART)	~52–60%	Any age	✓ Available
HALT spectacle lenses (Essilor Stellest)	~67%	Any age	✓ Available
Single-vision lenses	0% (control)	—	—

Efficacy figures are approximate and based on the best available randomised trial data. Individual variation is substantial — some children respond strongly, others less so. Axial length measurement over time (typically every 6–12 months) is the most reliable way to gauge whether treatment is working.

For a child who refuses to wear glasses, myopia control contact lenses may offer better compliance than spectacles. For a very young child, spectacles with myopia control lenses may be more appropriate than contact lenses. For a child who plays contact sports, contact lenses may be more practical. Your optometrist will weigh these factors.

Practical Considerations for Singapore Parents

Age and Readiness

The standard guidance is that children from age 8 can successfully learn to insert, wear, and remove soft contact lenses with appropriate training. Clinical studies — including research from the Contact Lenses in Pediatrics (CLIP) study — have demonstrated that children as young as 8 can achieve successful contact lens wear when properly trained and motivated. That said, readiness varies significantly between children; an 8-year-old who is highly motivated and dexterous may be a better candidate than a distracted 11-year-old.

Most Singapore optometrists conduct a "contact lens readiness" assessment to determine whether a child is motivated and capable. A supervised trial fitting — where the child learns to insert and remove lenses in the practice — is standard practice before prescribing.

Hygiene and Compliance

Because MiSight is a daily disposable, there is no lens cleaning or soaking required — each morning a fresh lens is inserted and each evening it is discarded. This is a significant safety advantage over reusable lenses, as it eliminates the risk of solution-related contamination and greatly simplifies the routine for children.

Key hygiene rules for children wearing contact lenses:

Always wash and dry hands before handling lenses
Never wear lenses while swimming or in the shower
Replace each lens daily without exception — never sleep in daily disposables
Attend all scheduled follow-up appointments (typically every 3–6 months for myopia control wearers)

Cost in Singapore

MiSight 1 Day lenses cost approximately SGD 60–90 per box of 30 lenses, depending on the supplier. A child wearing lenses 6–7 days per week (a common recommendation to allow the eyes rest days) would typically use around 26 boxes per year, putting the annual lens cost at approximately SGD 1,500–2,300 before professional fees. Follow-up consultation fees vary by practice.

Prices are indicative and will vary. Some practices offer myopia management programmes that bundle lens supply with follow-up consultations.

Regulatory Note

In Singapore, all contact lenses — including cosmetic and myopia control lenses — are classified as medical devices and must be prescribed and supplied by a registered optometrist or contact lens practitioner under the Optometrists and Opticians Board (OOB). It is not legally permissible to purchase prescription contact lenses without a valid contact lens prescription in Singapore. Parents should always obtain lenses through a registered practice, not from overseas online retailers, as the prescription fit is specific to the individual child's corneal measurements.

Understanding Your Child's Myopia Risk Before Starting Treatment

Before choosing any myopia control option, it helps to understand how significant your child's myopia risk is and what trajectory their prescription is likely to follow without intervention.

CarrotByte's free myopia progression calculator lets parents enter their child's current age, current prescription, and treatment option to model expected progression to age 17. It draws on validated population models to give a realistic picture of where your child's myopia may end up under different scenarios.

👉 Try the free Myopia Progression Calculator

Understanding the projected endpoint is particularly important for high myopia prevention. A child who reaches -6.00 D or above (high myopia) is at significantly elevated risk of sight-threatening complications including retinal detachment, myopic macular degeneration, and glaucoma later in life. The goal of myopia control is not just comfort — it is reducing the lifetime risk of these serious conditions.

You can also assess your child's overall myopia risk profile using our Myopia Risk Calculator, which considers family history, outdoor time, near work habits, and current refraction.

Questions to Ask Your Optometrist

If you are considering myopia control contact lenses for your child, here are the key questions to raise at your next appointment:

Is my child a suitable candidate for contact lens wear at their current age? Ask the optometrist to assess readiness in practice.
What is their current axial length, and how fast has it been growing? Axial length progression (measured in millimetres per year) is more informative than prescription change alone.
Which myopia control option — lenses, spectacles, or atropine — would you recommend, and why? A good optometrist will be able to justify a personalised recommendation.
How will we know if the treatment is working? Establish what metric they will track and at what intervals.
What happens if my child does not want to continue wearing contact lenses? Understand the exit strategy and whether switching to spectacle-based control is possible without rebound.
What is the follow-up schedule? For myopia control patients, 3–6 monthly visits are standard; less frequent monitoring is a red flag.

The Bottom Line

Myopia control contact lenses — particularly MiSight 1 Day — are a well-evidenced, FDA-approved option for slowing myopia progression in children aged 8 and older. With three-year randomised trial data showing approximately 52% reduction in progression, and six-year follow-up confirming sustained benefit, MiSight has a stronger evidence base than most competing options.

For Singapore families dealing with fast-progressing myopia, contact lenses are worth a serious conversation with your optometrist. They are not the right choice for every child, but for motivated older children and teenagers, they offer a combination of effective myopia control and freedom from spectacle frames that many children prefer.

The most important step is not choosing the perfect treatment — it is starting treatment early, measuring progress consistently, and adjusting if the current approach is not working. Myopia does not stop on its own.