Atropine eye drops for Myopia
Expanding Our Myopia Management Arsenal: Introducing Ryjunea® Eye Drops at Orpington Eyecare Centre
Welcome to the latest update from Orpington Eyecare Centre. As a parent, finding out your child is short-sighted (myopic) can be concerning, especially when their prescription seems to deteriorate at every visit. Lifestyle changes, increased screen time, and less time spent outdoors drive the current rapid rise in myopia.
At Orpington Eyecare Centre, we treat you and your child as individuals, and we already take pride in offering a comprehensive, bespoke suite of myopia management options. From MiYOSMART spectacle lenses and MiSight® daily contact lenses to Ortho K (overnight vision correction) and our innovative Red Light Therapy, we have long dedicated ourselves to preserving your child’s future eye health.
Today, we proudly announce a groundbreaking new medical addition to our myopia management arsenal: Ryjunea®.
What is Ryjunea®?
Santen officially indicates this newly approved prescription eye drop, containing 0.1 mg/ml of the active ingredient atropine sulfate, for slowing myopia progression in paediatric patients.
While our current solutions—like specialised spectacles, contact lenses, and light therapy—offer highly effective results, Ryjunea® provides a unique pharmacological approach. The low-dose atropine sulfate works gently to help stabilise the elongation of the eyeball, addressing the primary cause of worsening short-sightedness.
Is My Child Suitable for Ryjunea®?
We target this treatment specifically at children who experience progressive myopia. It may be an excellent option for your child if they meet the following clinical criteria:
✓ Children aged between 3 and 14 years old qualify for this option.
✓ Myopia severity must range from -0.5 D to -6.0 D.
✓ The prescription actively progresses at a rate of 0.5 D or more per year.
We always tailor treatment at Orpington Eyecare Centre to your child’s specific needs. Our experienced optometrists will carefully assess your child’s eyes to determine if this is the right path. An eye care professional who has myopia within their scope of practice must initiate Ryjunea® therapy.
How Does the Treatment Work?
If our team prescribes it, you will find incorporating Ryjunea® into your child’s routine very straightforward:
Daily Application: Apply exactly one drop into each eye, once a day.
Bedtime Routine: We recommend administering the drops at bedtime.
Application Technique: Immediately after instilling the drop, you should gently compress the lacrimal sac (the inner corner of the eye) for one minute. This technique, known as punctal occlusion, helps reduce possible systemic absorption of the medicine into the rest of the body.
Contact Lens Wearers: Your child must remove daytime contact lenses before putting the drops in, and they can reinsert them after 15 minutes. Because you apply the drops at night, this integrates perfectly with daily disposable lenses like MiSight®.
We will continually monitor your child’s progress during regular clinical evaluations. We will consider tapering and eventually stopping the treatment once their myopia stabilises (defined as less than 0.5 D of progression over a two-year period) during adolescence.
Important Considerations and Side Effects
Children generally tolerate Ryjunea® very well because it utilises a low-dose formula. However, parents should be aware of a few potential side effects:
Light Sensitivity: The most common side effect involves photophobia (sensitivity to light) due to the drops causing slight pupil dilation. This sensitivity can last up to 14 days.
Focusing: Blurred vision or an accommodation disorder (temporary difficulty focusing on near objects) can sometimes occur.
Other Symptoms: Some children may experience mild eye irritation, headaches, eye pain, or a feeling like there is something in the eye.
Preservatives: The eye drops contain benzalkonium chloride, which can cause eye irritation and discolour soft contact lenses. Therefore, exercise extra caution if your child experiences dry eyes.
Note that stopping treatment suddenly carries a possibility of “rebound” myopia progression. For this reason, we will continue to carefully monitor your child’s vision for at least one full year after the treatment stops.
Let’s Protect Their Vision Together
With the addition of Ryjunea® eye drops to our existing range of glasses, contact lenses, and red-light therapies, Orpington Eyecare Centre offers the perfect, customised solution for your child.
If you notice changes in your child’s eyesight, or if you simply want to explore the best preventative options, please reach out to us.
Or visit us at 277 High Street, Orpington to book your child’s myopia assessment today.
