WHO IS A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR ORTHO-K?
PEOPLE WHO PLAY SPORTS — ESPECIALLY CONTACT AND WATER SPORTS
You can enjoy the freedom of playing sports without worrying about your glasses getting damaged or your contact lenses falling out. Ortho-K lenses are only worn at night while you sleep, leaving you with perfect vision during the day on the sports field, court or in the swimming pool.
PEOPLE WORKING IN DUSTY OR DIRTY ENVIRONMENTS
Dusty or dirty environments can play havoc with contact lenses and glasses. If you’re a tradesman who needs to squeeze into tight spaces or work in dusty work conditions, Ortho-K lenses will allow you to see clearly and get on with the job.
PEOPLE WITH DRY EYES OR ALLERGIES
Ortho-K lenses are great if you suffer from allergies or dry eyes and work long hours on the computer or in air conditioned environments and don’t wish to wear glasses or contact lenses.
PEOPLE WHO WANT FREEDOM FROM THEIR GLASSES OR DAY WEAR CONTACT LENSES AND ARE NOT CANDIDATES FOR LASIK
The cost of Ortho-K vision correction is much less than the cost of laser vision correction. Ortho-K is completely reversible and does not have the potential to worsen your dry eyes to the same extent as laser correction. Also, as patients reach their mid-forties and start needing help for their near vision, Ortho-K therapy can be modified to give clear vision at all distances without a pair of glasses, unlike a one-off laser procedure.
CHILDREN WITH PROGRESSIVE MYOPIA
Ortho-K lenses are an excellent option for children with progressive myopia (short sightedness). Ortho-K is scientifically proven to dramatically slow, or potentially halt the progression of myopia and can have a positive impact on the long-term health of your child’s eye. Wearing Ortho-K lenses only at night gives kids the freedom to run around, play sports and wear fashion sunglasses during the day without worrying about their glasses or contact lenses in the eye.
WHAT TYPE OF PRESCRIPTION CAN BE TREATED BY ORTHO-K?
Orthokeratology is effective on nearsighted (myopic), and astigmatic patients. Ideally, your prescription should be in the range of -1.00 to -6.00 with no more than -1.75 diopters of surface astigmatism. In some cases, our optometrist, Pezeshk, will attempt higher prescriptions but the increased prescription levels may result in partial correction with acceptable vision.
Orthokeratology technology continues to evolve, and in some cases, Ortho-K can also successfully correct corneas with high astigmatism, presbyopia and Post-LASIK (refractive surgery) with residual myopia or irregular treatment areas.
IS THERE A MINIMUM AGE REQUIREMENT FOR ORTHO-K?
There is no specific age restriction for Ortho-K. Children as young as five have successfully and safely received Ortho-K corneal reshaping. The maturity level and motivation of your child, rather than age, can help determine if your child is old enough to start treatment. In fact, parents like the fact that they can have more control and supervision of the insertion and removal of the orthokeratology lenses at home for their child. A big benefit of Ortho-K is that it has been scientifically proven to slow the progression of myopia, (a process called myopia control) and is one of the most popular methods of myopia control vision correction in children and teenagers.
AM I TOO OLD FOR ORTHO-K?
No, there is no age limit for Ortho-K. In fact, those adult patients that have been turned down for refractive eye surgery due to changes in near vision or dry eyes from aging, can often be ideal candidates for orthokeratology.
