Myopia Management with Atropine eye drops

Atropine is derived from the nightshade “belladonna” plant. It is a common ingredient in a strong dilating drop. The standard 1% concentration is also FDA approved for children as young as 3 with amblyopia ‘lazy eye’.

Eye doctors have known that 1% atropine stops the development of myopia. However, this strength causes very poor reading vision, and very large dilated pupils. No one could tolerate these effects.

In 2016, the release of the ATOM2 study showed the benefit of lower strengths of atropine (0.01%, 0.1% and 0.5%). With atropine eye drops, the benefits of slower prescription change and eye growth have to weighed against the side effects for the child (blurry near vision and light sensitivity).

Newer research shows 0.05% atropine offers the best balance. Side effects are tolerable for most children and this concentration offers a 50% effectiveness for myopia control on average. For children that are having side effects, 0.025% offers 30% treatment effect.