Do you ever wish you could stop wearing your prescription glasses? Do you want better eyesight without getting an operation on your eyes? If so, you are fortunate—you can now have what you desire with orthokeratology, often known as ortho-k, and its groundbreaking methodology. 

How It Works

The technique reshapes your cornea while you sleep using rigid gas-permeable contact lenses specially made for you. After taking the lenses out, you will have a reshaped cornea and see perfectly for the next 36 hours. 
 

With ortho-k, patients get to enjoy an alternative to standard glasses, contacts, and long-term laser correction. That is why it is a popular way to treat refractive eye disorders.

Who Is a Good Candidate?

Ideal candidates for ortho-k therapy meet one or more of the following criteria:
 

• Nearsighted/Myopia: The visibility of close items is sharp, whereas distant objects appear blurry

• Farsighted/Hyperopia: Good vision of distant objects but a hazy perception of close objects

• Candidates must have myopia or hyperopia within a specific range

• Low to moderate astigmatism

• Presbyopia is when the cornea's uneven curvature causes light to focus on multiple eye parts

• Situations where aging causes the eye's lens to become less flexible, making it hard to concentrate on surrounding things

• It is ideal for candidates who are ineligible for surgery to correct vision with a laser

• It may help in situations where laser vision correction methods are ineffective

• People with an active way of life

• People who find it challenging to wear glasses or contacts due to a job or pastime

• Those with a family history of myopia may be good candidates

• People with an increased possibility of later treatment issues, including retinal detachment and glaucoma

Orthokeratology and Children

Ortho-k is gaining popularity as a remedy for rising childhood myopia. Many experts attribute this problem to more screen time and indoor activities. Myopia is a progressive condition. The sooner it develops, the more severe it may become. 
 

Kids with untreated nearsightedness are more likely to require stronger prescriptions and risk developing issues like glaucoma, macular degeneration, and retinal detachment. Fortunately, kids can use this treatment instead of conventional glasses or contact lenses. Studies show it to be both safe and effective.

What to Expect

Patients who use orthokeratology to correct their vision may show improvements in their vision in as little as a few days or as long as several weeks. A succession of temporary lenses may be necessary to reshape the cornea to achieve the best outcomes progressively.
 

You should wear many pairs of these specialty lenses to achieve the most significant vision correction. Your eye doctor will advise you to use the retainer ortho-k lenses once your cornea achieves the ultimate shape you want.
 

Although ortho-k can help you see better, the effects are reversible. You can prolong the results, provided you use the lenses as prescribed. The FDA-approved studies demonstrate that these specialty lenses can produce 20/40 eyesight or better.

Conclusion

One of the best optical myopia control methods is orthokeratology. As discussed, several things make someone a good candidate for orthokeratology. However, scheduling a vision test is the best method to determine whether you or a loved one would be a good candidate.
 

For more on orthokeratology, visit True Vision Optometry at our Montebello, California office. Call (323) 403-4116 to schedule an appointment today.