Myopia can affect more than your child’s sight. It can lead to an increased risk of eye conditions later in life, making treating myopia as early as possible essential. Orthokeratology, or ortho-k, is one of many treatments for myopia. These contact lenses help correct your child’s vision while slowing myopia progression.
Ortho-k can help treat myopia, but you may wonder if it’s worth it for your child.
Studies have found ortho-k to be a safe and effective treatment, and many younger patients can benefit from these lenses. However, each patient is unique, and your eye doctor can determine if ortho-k is right for your child’s vision and lifestyle needs during an eye exam.
Ortho-K Can Help Protect Your Child’s Vision & Eye Health
Myopia is a refractive error that affects millions of Americans. This condition causes blurry vision from a distance. Myopia typically develops in childhood and, if left untreated, can progress into high myopia—which occurs when someone needs a strong prescription to see clearly.
Besides blurry vision, high myopia increases the risk of several eye conditions, including:
With the risk myopia can have on younger patients, it’s important to book regular eye exams with your optometrist. They can diagnose myopia as early as possible and recommend treatments to help slow progression, like ortho-k.
What Is Ortho-K?
Orthokeratology is a type of corneal reshaping lens. These rigid gas-permeable (RGP) lenses help correct vision and control myopia progression. Ortho-k lenses reshape the cornea, changing how light bends as it enters the eye. It is a non-invasive and non-surgical treatment.
Your child wears ortho-k lenses overnight and removes them in the morning, enjoying clear vision throughout the day.
What Can Ortho-K Treat?
Ortho-k can help treat myopia in patients of different ages. They can help both children and adults correct their vision and enjoy clear sight without needing glasses during the day.
These lenses can help provide clear vision for children while reducing myopic progression. A 2018 review of several studies found that ortho-k lenses are an effective and safe way to treat myopia progression.
How Does Ortho-K Work?
Ortho-k works by reshaping the cornea. Every patient’s eyes are unique, so your optometrist must create customized lenses for your child. They will map the surface of your child’s eye using a corneal topographer and use this information to design lenses to suit your child’s prescription and eye shape.
Orthokeratology involves wearing specially designed contact lenses overnight. As your child’s eyes move around during sleep, the lenses slowly and gently reshape the cornea, allowing clearer vision without glasses or contacts during the day. However, the effects are temporary—your child must wear their lenses each night for continuous results.
This treatment has shown promising results in slowing myopia progression in children, offering improved vision and reduced dependence on glasses or contact lenses. A 2018 study found that ortho-k lenses can slow myopia progression by 36–56% in children. Another study found that patients using ortho-k lenses had a significantly lower rate of changes in their vision than others in the trial.
Addressing myopia as early as possible can help slow myopia progression, protect your child’s vision, and reduce the risk of eye disease later in life.
Is Ortho-K Safe to Use?
While ortho-k is safe to use, these lenses are still medical devices. Contact lenses increase your risk of eye infection, especially in children who may not wash their hands as frequently or follow other hygienic practices. For their safety with ortho-k lenses, your child should follow their contact lens care instructions carefully. Additionally, they should visit the eye doctor frequently to make sure treatment goes well.
Follow these tips to care for your child’s contact lenses:
- Only use your contact lenses as directed by your optometrist
- Wash your hands with soap and water before handling contact lenses
- Never clean or rinse contact lenses with water
- Only use a contact lens solution approved by your eye doctor
- Regularly clean and replace your contact lens case to avoid potential infection
- Don’t wear contact lenses longer than recommended by your eye doctor
Other Myopia Control Treatments Available
Ortho-k lenses can help correct and control myopia in children, but they may not be right for your child. Your eye doctor can help identify ideal treatments during an eye exam after assessing your child’s sight and learning more about their vision and lifestyle needs.
Other myopia control treatments include:
Are You Looking for New Ortho-K Eye Doctor?阿尔法角膜塑形镜
You may recognize ortho-k lenses as:
- ok镜
- 梦戴维
- 欧几里德 EUCLID
- 露晰得LUCID
- 阿尔法
- 菁视C&E
- 易安易E&E
- 亨泰
- Dreamlite
Our eye doctors at Golden Vision have extensive knowledge in providing and fitting these lenses to help slow the progression of myopia. For more information please contact us or book a free virtual consultation
Golden Vision(高登眼镜）的角膜塑形镜可以有效的减缓近视的加深。 我们的
眼科医生在验配角膜塑形镜这方面拥有丰富的经验和知识。欲获取更多信息，请与我们联系或预约免费网上咨询。
Protect Your Child’s Vision
While myopia may seem insignificant, it can increase your child’s risk of eye disease in adulthood. High myopia is a risk, but myopia control treatments such as ortho-k can help slow its progression.
Protect your child’s eye health by consulting your eye doctor during an eye exam. Act proactively–reach out to Golden Vision Optometry today to explore ortho-k for your child’s visual well-being.
