Atropine Treatment

Atropine eyedrops has been used widely to treat different types of ocular eye diseases. The mechanism of atropine on myopia control is still unknown. ATOM 1 and ATOM 2 studies have shown that the effect of Atropine for myopia control is dosage dependent, which means a higher dosage results in less myopia progression. The prescribed dosages range from 1% to 0.01%.

However, higher dosages cause more side effects including prolonged dilation, photosensitivity, redness, accommodation paralysis and burning sensation which requires children to use sunglasses outdoors and reading glasses. The recent LAMP (Low Concentration Atropine Myopia Progression) study further validated the effectiveness of the low dose atropine in myopia control management.

The effectiveness of myopia control using atropine was found to be between 50% to 70%. This treatment option is more suitable for younger children who are not ready for Orthokeratology or soft multifocal contact lenses.