Your optometrist recommended orthokeratology (ortho-k) treatment for your child — that is, wearing corrective lenses overnight. However, the idea of having your child wear contact lenses while they sleep may be worrisome. Can it lead to an eye infection, or scratch/ squeeze the cornea?

A closer look into the research done on overnight ortho-k lens wear reveals the extent of any actual risk factors and how they compare to other contact lens options.

What Are Overnight Ortho-K Lenses?

Ortho-k lenses are custom-made contact lenses that are worn overnight to gently reshape the cornea, thus enabling clear vision the following day. Research shows that overnight ortho-k not only effectively removes the need to wear any glasses or daytime contact lenses, but can slow down the progression of myopia. Optometrists, such as , are therefore increasingly using ortho-k for myopia management as well as for patients who no longer want to wear any optical correction during the day.

Is Your Child at a Higher Risk of Eye Infection With Ortho-K?

An extensive study involving 1300 people at Ohio State University concluded that overnight ortho-k carries no more risk than any other type of contact lens modality.

Hygiene plays a vital role in preventing infections with all contact lenses. During the lens fitting process, your eye care professional will provide you and your child with detailed information and guidance on how to clean and store the lenses, as well as what precautions to take. Make sure to carefully follow the instructions regarding the cleaning schedule and use only the appropriate solutions provided for the overnight lenses.

Other Potential Risks With Orthokeratology

Can an Ortho-k Lens Squeeze or Scratch the Cornea?

An ortho-k lens floats on a tear film covering the eye. The reshaping is achieved by hydraulic force that is applied to the thin central part of the cornea without any tissue being squeezed or crushed.

A corneal abrasion can occasionally occur and is usually the result of a fingernail or lens edge scratching the cornea. That said, the risk isn’t any higher with overnight lenses than with other rigid lenses.

Do Overnight Lenses Involve a Higher Risk of Hypoxia?

The cornea needs a regular oxygen supply. This supply is typically reduced when covered by a contact lens. Extended uninterrupted contact lens wear can cause hypoxia and swell the cornea — this applies to all contact lens modalities when worn longer than recommended.

What is Corneal Staining?

This is likely the most common of all contact lens complications. Corneal staining refers to the appearance of tissue disruption and other changes on the corneal surface. This may be due to a variety of causes, such as improper lens fit, foreign bodies, tear film disruption or irregularities at the edges of a contact lens.

A corneal stain can also occur when a specific contact lens solution comes into direct contact with the cornea and the patient has a reaction to the chemicals in that solution. Research shows that children who wear ortho-k lenses are at no greater risk of corneal staining than those who wear soft contact lenses.

What You Need to Remember When Handling Ortho-K Lenses

• Always wash hands before inserting or removing contact lenses.
• Make sure to strictly adhere to the cleaning and disinfection routine as instructed by your optometrist.
• Provide your child with all the necessary assistance and support regarding the care of the lenses. Young children should not handle the lenses on their own.
• Only use the solutions recommended by our team of eye doctors. If you feel your child has an issue with any of them, please contact us.
• Frequently replace the lens case to avoid microbial contamination and make sure you or your child do not touch the tip of the solution bottle.
• Do not use tap water to rinse your lenses, always use saline solution.
• Never use a soft contact lens solution for a rigid lens. These solutions are made of different liquids, each with their own guidelines and protocols.
• If your child feels discomfort or experiences redness of the eye, contact our team of eye doctors.

How Safe Are Overnight Contact Lenses? from EyeCarePro on Vimeo.

Overnight Ortho-K Lenses are Safe

Orthokeratology is a safe and effective method of providing clear daytime vision and of slowing down the progression of myopia in children.

As long as they carefully follow the instructions regarding hygiene and the handling of the lenses, there should be no reason to worry. Children mature enough to understand the importance of these instructions will also be responsible enough to adhere to them.

Get more information regarding overnight ortho-k lenses at Dr. Patricia Fink Optometry. our team of eye doctors will carry out an eye exam and will happily answer any questions you may have.

Did your new year resolutions include any vision-related intentions? After all, it is the year 2020 — a year for perfect vision. This could be the right time to consider a more effective and worthwhile way to correct your or your child’s nearsightedness.

Consider ortho-k (orthokeratology), a way to correct myopia that could give you or your child clear 20/20 vision. What’s more, it comes with certain financial advantages, as Ortho-k can be eligible for reimbursement with most health-related savings accounts.

Why Use Your Benefits on Orthokeratology?

Whether you have funds that rolled over from the previous year or you just started your new health savings account this year, now is the time to plan how to allocate your benefits in 2020.

Remember, vision-related issues should never be taken lightly. An investment in vision correction pays off in numerous ways. Ortho-k provides a safe, non-surgical, non-invasive, and comfortable corrective option and lets you take advantage of your benefits.

What is Orthokeratology?

Orthokeratology, also known as corneal reshaping therapy, are custom-fit overnight lenses that gently mold your cornea into a shape that bends light correctly onto the retina. This allows you to have perfect vision without wearing glasses or contact lenses throughout the day.

Ortho-k Advantages for Adults

There are advantages to Ortho-k besides the convenience of not wearing glasses or contacts during the day. Glasses or contact lenses often don’t provide clear peripheral vision, something you will have with ortho-k. Moreover, unlike LASIK surgery, which creates a permanent change to the corneal shape and involves the risk of complications, the ortho-k treatment is safe and reversible.

Ortho-k Advantages for Children

For children, there is an additional benefit. Myopia usually worsens until around the age of 21, sometimes at an alarming speed. High levels of myopia, generally above -3.00 dioptres, can pose a higher risk of serious eye diseases later on in life that can lead to loss of vision.

Research has revealed that orthokeratology can slow down the progression of myopia, thus lowering the risks of developing macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinal detachment, and cataracts.

Which Savings Accounts Cover Orthokeratology?

You may not have to pay entirely for orthokeratology out of your own pocket, as many Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA) can reimburse this kind of program. A Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) may at times also refund the ortho-k costs. Just make sure to check your specific plan, as not all plans are exactly the same.

Use Your Benefits in 2020 to Correct Myopia With Ortho-K from EyeCarePro on Vimeo.

Use Benefits for Family Members

It gets even better! You can use these funds either for yourself or for someone in your family. If you have a child with progressing nearsightedness, use the benefits to help him/her get the best vision ever.

Many parents settle for glasses or regular contact lenses as they are less expensive than special ortho-k lenses. However, with a savings account, there is no need to compromise because you get a refund. Give yourself the opportunity to make the year 2020 a year of 20/20 vision for yourself or your child.

At Dr. Patricia Fink Optometry, we prescribe and fit orthokeratology lenses and provide all associated services. Contact our team of eye doctors today to schedule an appointment for an eye evaluation.

We treat patients from Burlington, Oakville, Hamilton, Dundas, and throughout Ontario .

While the detrimental effects of smoking on the lungs and heart are widely known, many aren’t aware that its impact on vision is just as profound. Myopia, on the other hand, is commonly viewed as a benign refractive error that simply requires correction with prescription lenses. The truth is, however, that both myopia progression and smoking increase the chances of developing serious eye diseases that can lead to vision loss.

Here’s the good news — the risks to vision associated with smoking and myopia progression in children are potentially preventable. Just as a chain-smoker can kick the habit to improve eye health, myopia management programs offered at Dr. Patricia Fink Optometry can dramatically lower their child’s risk of developing serious ocular diseases later in life.

Let’s Compare Smoking to Myopia Progression

Cataracts

Cataracts occur when the eye’s natural lens begins to cloud, causing hazy or blurred vision. Certain factors can contribute to the onset and severity of the condition, such as advanced age, obesity, eye injury, high myopia, and smoking. In fact, according to a recent study, smokers are 2 times more likely to develop cataracts than non-smokers.

However, children with medium to high myopia are 5 times more likely to develop cataracts later in life than non-myopic children.

Macular Degeneration

Smoking is the largest controllable factor that contributes to macular degeneration. Studies show that those who smoke are 2 to 4 times more likely to develop macular degeneration than non-smokers.

Myopic macular degeneration (MMD) is caused by a severe eye elongation and retinal stretching — such as in high myopia — which leads to a damaged macula (the small portion of the retina responsible for detailed central and color vision). The higher the myopia, the greater the risk of developing MMD.

Retinal Detachment

The harmful properties in cigarettes can cause uveitis — an inflammation of the uvea (the eye’s middle layer). Uveitis can lead to retinal detachment, which separates the retina from the layers beneath it. This causes field vision loss, floaters, light flashes, and in severe cases — complete vision loss. Smoking more than doubles the chances of developing this condition.

There also is a causal relationship between myopia and retinal detachment. A child with mild myopia is 21 times more likely to develop retinal detachment, whereas a child with high myopia is 44 times more likely to suffer from this serious condition.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness in the United States and Canada, occurs when ocular fluid places pressure on the eye, damaging the optic nerve. A few risk factors for glaucoma include high blood pressure, cataracts, and diabetes — all of which are linked to smoking. By kicking the smoking habit, one significantly reduces the risks of developing this vision-robbing condition.

Similarly, children with medium to high myopia are 5 times more likely to develop glaucoma than non-myopes.

What’s worse for your vision? High myopia (nearsightedness) or smoking? from EyeCarePro on Vimeo.

How Can Myopia Management Help?

As adults, many of us take actions to maintain good health and preserve our vision, such as eating a healthy diet, exercising, and not smoking. Let’s do the same for our children. As depicted above, smoking is as dangerous for the eyes as rapidly progressing myopia.

If your child’s prescription rapidly deteriorates, contact Dr. Patricia Fink Optometry for a consultation. Let us help your child diminish the risk of developing ocular disease and vision loss with our effective myopia management program.

our team of eye doctors serves patients from Burlington, Oakville, Hamilton, Dundas, and throughout Ontario .

References

https://www.allaboutvision.com/smoking/

https://www.everydayhealth.com/vision-center/the-aging-eye/tips/smoking-ups-risk-for-age-related-vision-loss.aspx

https://www.allaboutvision.com/parents/myopia-progression.htm