Orthokeratology
What is Orthokeratology?
Orthokeratology or also known as Ortho-K is a revolutionary non-surgical procedure that restores your vision WHILE YOU SLEEP. It eliminates the need for glasses or contact lenses during the daytime. Ortho K is a specially designed contact lens that gently reshapes the curvature of the corneal (eye surface).
How does Ortho-K work?
The revolutionary Ortho-K technology is a fully customised contact lens that is manufactured to fit the exact shape of your eyes. This technology uses highly breathable rigid lens material and reverse geometry designs to allow faster and effective corneal reshaping3. Designing of the contact lenses requires a detailed ocular consultation and corneal mapping. (Consider topo picture)
During sleep, your eyelid and the Ortho-K lens will result in a gentle pressure on the cornea (the eye surface). This pressure will reshape the cornea to the desired curvature that is optimal to correct the short-sightedness (myopia) in the eye. That is why Ortho-K is also sometimes referred to as “braces for the eyes” because it acts like a retainer that aligns the teeth. Once the reshaping is complete, you will be able to enjoy clear and natural vision during all waking hours without glasses or contact lenses.
However, the reshaping effect is temporary. The corrected vision works best during waking hours and might be slightly affected at the end of the day. Therefore, the lenses need to be worn continuously every night during sleep to maintain the reshaped cornea surface and corrected vision.
Who is suitable for Ortho-K treatment?
Ortho-K treatment is for anyone who wants to be FREE from glasses and contacts lenses during the daytime. It is so simple that you only need to put on the lenses each night before you go to sleep. It’s just so simple and amazing.
Be it for adults or children, Ortho-K contact lenses can treat most of the refractive conditions.
For children who face a constant increase in myopia, Ortho-K treatment can also significantly retard the progression, and in some people, it may even halt the progression of myopia. More information on how Ortho-k can reduce myopia progression can be found here.
Is Ortho-K safe?
Ortho-K is a safe and reversible procedure. The FDA approved it in 2002. However, like any other contact lenses, there is still a potential risk of corneal inflammation and infection. However, these risks can be reduced by careful cleaning and disinfecting the Ortho-K lenses. Also, any form of contact lens complication can be effectively addressed and managed as long as you wear the contact lenses as prescribed by the optometrist and keep to your follow up appointment for eye health check.
Is Ortho-K for children or adult?
Most of the time, Ortho-K is used for Myopia Management in children as young as 8 years of age. However, there is no age limit in Ortho-K wearing. For an adult, the reason