Vision happens because light goes into your eye, enters your retina, and tells you what you are viewing. Technically, the light enters your retina, the retina sends signals to your brain, and your brain interprets the signals. After interpreting the signals, your brain tells you what you are seeing and how to understand it.

 

Because of the eye's round shape, the retina can bend light and send signals to the brain. But if the eye assumes an unbalanced shape, the retina cannot bend the light correctly. As a result, the brain cannot interpret images and the vision becomes blurry. This condition is called a refractive error. It can be corrected by ortho-k treatment.

 

What Is Ortho-K?

Ortho-k is a treatment that shapes vision. It involves using special, hard contact lenses (gas permeable) during sleep to improve eyesight. Ortho-k lenses softly adjust the eye’s cornea into the right shape, thus correcting any refractive errors. These errors include shortsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), and astigmatism.

 

When a person using ortho-k lenses gets up in the morning, they will take off the lenses and enjoy clearer vision throughout the day. Ortho-k treatment has helped people, both young and old, to have sharper vision.

 

Can Kids Use Ortho-K?

Yes, kids can use ortho-k treatment. The treatment has proven to effectively delay or even stop shortsightedness from progressing in kids. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved eye surgery for kids, but ortho-k is a safe and appropriate treatment for both kids and adults.

 

At What Age Can Kids Start Ortho-K?

Ortho-K treatment has no age limit. Kids as young as six years old have benefitted from wearing ortho-k lenses. As such, ophthalmologists consider ortho-k as one of the best treatment options to control myopia in kids.

 

How Effective Is Ortho-K for Kids?

Ortho-k treatment helps even out the cornea, allowing light to go in and bend properly. This will ultimately improve your child’s vision.

 

Additionally, the results from the ortho-k treatment are fast. Your child's vision can improve after just one night of treatment. However, it may take two to three weeks to see results if your child has a strong prescription. Thus, if you would like to see your child go about his or her daily activities without using contact lenses or glasses, you may want to consider ortho-k.

 

Safety of Ortho-K for Kids

The FDA has approved ortho-k lenses as a safe treatment for people of all ages, provided the lenses are made from select gas-permeable materials.

 

That being said, using ortho-k lenses has been found to increase the risk of bacterial eye infections. The main cause of these infections is poor hygiene. Many of the eye infections from ortho-k happen because the user did not clean the lenses properly or wash hands before handling them.

 

Thus, children using ortho-k lenses should be encouraged to always keep their hands and contact lenses hygienic to minimize the risk of infection.

To learn more about ortho-k for kids, call Positive Eye Ons Optometry at our office in Los Angeles, California at (323) 651-5646 today.