Can myopia be cured or reversed?

• Myopia (nearsightedness) cannot be cured, reversed, or outgrown, but several steps can be taken to slow worsening myopia in children, and reduce long-term risks associated with high myopia.
• Talk to your eye care professional to discuss options for treating myopia, like specialized glasses or soft contact lenses, ortho-k lenses, or atropine eye drops, to see which method best suits your child.
• Be proactive in protecting your child’s vision—schedule regular eye exams early and regularly, encourage outdoor play, and moderate time spent on close-up activities such as reading or using digital devices.

Myopia, often called ‘short-sightedness’ or ‘near-sightedness’, is a type of refractive error that affects how clearly things in the distance are seen. The worse the myopia, the harder it is to perceive distant objects, leading to behaviours such as squinting, leaning or moving closer, and complaining of eye strain or tired eyes after extended periods of far viewing. 

With the increasing prevalence of childhood in myopia in recent years, it’s no surprise that there is a growing number of young people, and their parents, who are curious whether myopia can be cured or reversed, and permanently eliminate the need to wear glasses or contact lenses. 

To understand whether myopia can be cured, first we need to know how it develops.

Myopia usually occurs when the eyeball grows too long, too quickly; or the cornea (the clear tissue at the front of the eye) becoming too curved – compared to the way the rest of the eye is developing. Eye length is the main factor that determines what kind of prescription the eye will have, because eyes of different lengths focus light in different ways.¹ 

Longer eyes tend to focus light incorrectly in front of the retina (the light sensing tissue at the back of the eye) instead of precisely on it, making distant objects appear blurry. However, longer eyes are better suited to viewing things at near, hence why myopia is often called ‘nearsightedness’.

Multiple genetic, ethnic, and environmental factors can promote the development of myopia in school aged children and teenagers, for example:

1. Parental history of myopia – one nearsighted parent increases risk by 3-fold, while two nearsighted parents doubles this risk again.²
2. Not enough time spent outdoors (less than 90 minutes day), especially if combined with excessive time spent on close up viewing (more than 3 hours a day).³
3. Pre-existing eye focusing & coordination (binocular vision) problems.^4-6
4. Having a less farsighted prescription (hyperopia), compared to what is normally expected for the individual’s age – also known as having a low ‘hyperopic reserve’.⁷ Children with normally developing eyes have mild levels of hyperopia, which acts as a safety net against developing myopia. It has long been established that more farsightedness (hyperopia) at school entry protects against the development of myopia.⁸

The most rapid change in a child’s vision happens in the year before they become nearsighted.² For this reason, children who have risk factors for developing myopia should be monitored closely, especially if their prescription is off-course compared to their peers. 

Once myopia develops in children and teenagers, it typically deteriorates every few months.⁹ In most cases, this continues until the late teens or even early 20s.¹⁰ Since childhood and adolescence are key growth periods, the eye is also naturally programmed to keep growing during this time, driving myopia progression.¹¹ Therefore, myopia will not correct itself. 

Many available treatments can slow the progression of myopia – but not permanently stop or reverse it.¹² Much like a child growing taller cannot simply undo their growth, a fast-growing child will likely end up taller than their peers.

So, can nearsightedness be reversed? To put it simply, no—there’s currently no proven method to completely cure myopia or reverse it once the eye has elongated.

A cure is typically defined as a treatment that completely removes a disease or condition, restoring normal function without the need for ongoing management.¹³ In the case of myopia, a true cure would have to address both the visual and eye health consequences of myopia. This means both restoring distance vision, and reversing the eye’s elongation. Few studies have found a small reduction in the length of the eye following certain myopia treatments.^14,15 However, the overall consensus is that myopia cannot be fully reversed because the structural changes in the eye are permanent.

The eye elongating in myopia is why nearsightedness isn’t just about needing glasses, but maintaining healthy vision. 

As the eye stretches out, the retina becomes thinner, making it more vulnerable to conditions like myopic macular degeneration (a condition that damages central vision), retinal detachment (where the retina pulls away, causing sudden vision loss), glaucoma (increased pressure within the eye damaging the optic nerve), and early cataracts (clouding of the eye’s lens).¹⁶

This means there is no cure for myopia – the only options are to correct the blurred distance vision that comes with it. Corrective lenses (such as glasses and contact lenses) and even laser eye surgery provide vision correction for myopia, but do not fix the underlying cause of myopia nor help with reducing the risk of developing myopia-associated eye diseases. To learn more about other myths regarding ‘cures’ for myopia, read our article Myopia myths and treatments for short sightedness.

Minimizing the progression of myopia is crucial, because having severe myopia amplifies the health risks. Fortunately, the lack of a "cure" doesn’t mean we are powerless against myopia progression. While we cannot prevent myopia progression, there are certainly many ways to slow myopia progression.

There is a belief that laser eye surgery or LASIK can ‘cure’ myopia - in truth, this is a surgical alteration to the shape of the cornea, the clear dome at the front of the eye, which corrects vision like glasses or contact lenses, but permanently. 

LASIK may correct vision, but it does not cure the excessive length of the eye, which is the main risk factor for eye diseases and vision impairment across the lifetime of a person with myopia.¹⁰

While it may be disappointing that myopia isn’t something that can be cured outright, being able to slow the worsening of myopia matters a lot. The most critical time to address progressive myopia is as early as possible in life – during childhood and ideally before the age of 16, when half of adolescents are expected to stabilize.¹⁰

Modern advancements in eyecare, especially over the last decade, have paved the way for treatments to effectively slow the progression of myopia in children – now known as ‘myopia control’. ‘Myopia management’ refers to an eye care practitioner using a combination of approaches; like prescribing myopia control, and then supplementing the treatment with lifestyle recommendations and ongoing clinical care.

Ask your child’s eye care professional about myopia control. Myopia control means that your child’s blurred vision from myopia will be fully corrected, as well as looking at treatments which can slow down myopia progression.

• Overnight orthokeratology (ortho-k) refers to custom-designed, rigid contact lenses that are worn overnight to reshape the eye, resulting in clear daytime vision without the need to wear glasses or contact lenses.
• Myopia control soft contact lenses have specialized designs (e.g. dual focus contact lenses) which correct vision when worn, but at the same time signal the eye to slow its growth by altering how light focuses on the retina.
• Myopia control glasses, designed with specific lens technology, can also help slow progression while providing clear vision.
• Low-dose atropine eye drops are another well-researched option, helping to control excessive eye elongation without significantly affecting vision quality. They must be applied every night, and are used together with full-time glasses or contact lenses, as atropine eye drops themselves do not provide any vision benefits.

Beyond optical and pharmaceutical treatments, there is a lot you can do to help your child with myopia. 

Schedule regular eye exams to monitor changes in your child’s prescription and eye health. By keeping a close watch for early signs of myopia and detecting even small changes in prescription, you can collaborate with your optometrist or eye doctor to adjust strategies and explore different treatment options if needed.

Implementing changes in how your child uses their eyes can also play a key role. In particular, this refers to how much time your child is spending outside each day, and how often and how long they read up close or interact with digital devices. Learn how to get the most out of outdoor time and limit screen use in The Childhood Visual Environment.

A tailored, well-rounded approach to managing myopia offers the best protection for vision as well as long-term eye health. To learn more about the best options for myopia control, read our article Which is the best option for myopia control?.

Don’t be disheartened if you’ve just learned there’s no magic solution to cure or reverse myopia. Managing your child’s myopia using evidence-based methods (like ortho-k, myopia-control lenses, or low-dose atropine), and prioritizing outdoor time, can go a long way toward slowing myopia progression, compared to taking little or no action. Early intervention and sustaining treatment are key to getting the best results.

For more detailed information on myopia management, consider discussing with your local optometrist or eye doctor what services and products they can provide to your family.