Is Ortho-K for adults, too?
At Ian Donald Optometrist, we take great care of our customers – and we stay at the cutting edge of optometry to ensure we provide you and your family with optimal eye health services. Ortho-K, for instance, is a groundbreaking alternative to surgery, and it’s proving to be one of the most common methods of vision correction for our younger clients.
Ortho-K isn’t just for kids, however. While it has particular benefits for children, Ortho-K may be very beneficial for adults with certain eye conditions.
Here’s our guide to Ortho-K, and potential uses and benefits for eye health… at any age.
About Ortho-K
Orthokeratology (Ortho-K) is a non-surgical treatment designed to improve eyesight and reduce the dependence on glasses or contact lenses. Best of all, it works while you rest.
Ortho-K is a state-of-the-art contact lens that you wear overnight to help target common issues including myopia (short-sightedness), astigmatism, hyperopia (far-sightedness) and presbyopia (blurred near vision). The process is also known as vision shaping, corneal reshaping or corneal refractive therapy.
Ortho-K is a gentle procedure that temporarily helps reshape your cornea so that when you wake up, you find your vision is clear and sharp for anywhere between 24 hours and a few days.
How do Ortho-K lenses work?
The cornea is the outermost layer of the eye which refracts, or bends, light. In short, it focuses the light that enters the retina (the back of the eye).
With conditions such as myopia, the cornea is not a standard shape, and it’s this irregularity that causes blurred vision when trying to focus on distant objects.
Ortho-K lenses cleverly reshape the cornea so that it functions just as it would in a ‘normal’ eye. The reshaping helps send sharper images to the occipital lobe – helping you see objects much more clearly without the need for glasses.
Benefits of Ortho-K for children and adults
Traditionally, surgery has been a common treatment for eye conditions such as myopia. However, many parents, understandably, are interested in surgery alternatives when it comes to their kids’ eye health.
Ortho-K has proved to be incredibly popular with parents of children with eye health issues. It provides great temporary assistance for myopia and, even better, we’ve found it has helped stabilise myopia in many of our child and teen clients over the long term. Early intervention helps give your children the best chance at stabilising or improving vision – which is one reason why Ortho-K may be particularly effective for children.
For adults, there are also several benefits, however. Ortho-K is a great option for those who would prefer not to wear prescription glasses, or who have occupations or hobbies – such as certain sports – which make it difficult to wear glasses. Ortho-K may also be an alternative for those who are not interested or who are not candidates for surgery.
And as the corneal reshaping effect is temporary, it’s possible to stop wearing the lenses at any time, should you decide on a suitable alternative such as surgery or eyeglasses.
Optometry expertise for eye health
For many of our clients, Ortho-K has been a revolutionary treatment, but it may not be for everyone.
For this reason, the first best step is to book in for an eye examination so that our team can identify any eye conditions and see if Ortho-K – or one of our other optometry treatments – is best for you.
Please contact us if you are interested in finding out more about Ortho-K and its potential for children, adults and perhaps even seniors.
Have questions?
Chat with our team today
Shop 2, 37-39 The Corso,
Manly NSW 2095
Monday to Friday - 8.30am to 5.30pm
Saturday - 8.30am to 4.00pm
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