Eyesite offers patients Ortho-K lenses, a vision correction therapy that provides clear, comfortable vision without the need to wear contact lenses during the day. We supply EyeDream Ortho-K Lenses as they are some of the best Ortho-K lenses available. These are specially-designed contact lenses that reverse the power of the cornea, at the front of the eye during overnight wear. Once the full effect has taken place, the eye is effectively ‘normal’ and can see clearly during the day.
Benefits of Ortho-K Contact Lenses
There are many advantages of Ortho-K for people of all ages. This nonintrusive eye correction therapy provides an easy way to have clear, natural vision. Ortho-K is a process of gently moulding the cornea to reduce eye conditions by the application of contact lenses worn during sleep.
The goal of Orthokeratology is to give sharp daytime vision without the need for glasses or contacts and without the need of refractive surgery. The cells in the eye can be manipulated and forced to change shape under the lightest external pressure. This allows the lenses to carefully and painlessly change the shape of the eye in order to correct vision. The pressure can be manipulated as the eye changes and grows; a feature very useful in children, whose eyes are not yet fully grown
One of the major advantages of Ortho-K is having clear vision without the need for glasses or contact lenses. This makes Ortho-K an excellent option for professions where such aids could be compromised, such as sports, fire-fighting or work involving dust or dirty environments. They are also a solution for jobs requiring a degree of uncorrected vision, such as pilots or police.
Orthokeratology is a safe alternative to laser eye surgery. Laser eye surgery can be expensive and require several consultations.
Children have a great deal to gain from the advantages Ortho-K offers. Studies have demonstrated that adoption of Ortho-K in children can slow the advancement of myopia by significant degrees.
Advantages of Orthokeratology
- Clear daytime vision without the need for glasses or contact lenses.
- No surgical procedures needed
- Reversible process
- No hazy vision of similar post-laser-surgery conditions
- Modifiable as your eye conditions change
- Pain-free
- Child-safe
- Safe and well-understood technology
How Much Does Ortho-K Cost
Depending on your individual needs, Ortho-K often costs around £250 including fitting to get started and then around £54 a month for your lenses, solutions, drops and checkups.
How Does Ortho-K Work?
Essentially, Ortho-K works by using firm contact lenses to reshape the eye, allowing 20/20 vision without the need for glasses.
While rigid lenses are generally considered to be not as comfortable as soft lenses, overnight Ortho-K is generally very well accepted, since the main cause of rigid lens discomfort during waking hours is the feeling of the eyelids moving over the lens edges while blinking. Since Ortho-K lenses are worn when you’re asleep, there is no blinking and therefore generally no residual feeling of the lens after the adaptation period.
60% of your eye’s focusing power comes from the cornea. The cornea is extremely sensitive to very small changes. For example, 6 µm flattening of corneal thickness (around 5% of the thickness of a human hair) results in 1 diopter of changed vision in myopia. So a specially shaped lens can be used to lightly press the cornea, causing it gradually to be reshaped to the correct shape for focused vision.
The corrective effect lasts up to 72 hours once initially acclimatized, which is long enough to be a practical means of eyesight correction. There is some evidence that unlike other eyesight correction mechanisms, Ortho-K may also reduce future or ongoing eyesight changes or increased myopia, particularly in children.
Risks are comparable to ordinary contact lenses, since they are typically worn for much shorter periods (6–8 hours rather than daytime or 24/7) and while asleep rather than while active. They also compare favourably to surgical correction since no surgery is involved.
Corrections to the shape of the eye are handled over time, and it is considered generally safe for children. In addition, Ortho-K is broadly not new from a safety viewpoint; contact lens safety generally speaking is considered to be well understood. However it is important, as with all contact lenses, to maintain good cleaning and hygiene discipline.
How Long Does Ortho-K Last?
The effects of Ortho-K last for around 72 hours. Once patients have acclimatised themselves to Ortho-K, they commonly experience noticeable improvements within a few hours of use. With regular use of Ortho-K, you can expect to experience 20/20 daytime vision after a week.
Ortho-K lasts as long as it is implemented regularly. Because of the nature of the correction, they must be used on a regular basis. After a few days of not using the lenses, the cornea will start to lose its shape and return the patient’s vision to its original state. However, with regular use and an upkeep of good eye health and hygiene discipline, Ortho-K can be used for a lifetime.
Ortho-K For Children
Orthokeratology (Ortho-K) for children is an easy and convenient way to correct your child’s vision. Ortho-K allows for overnight vision correction, removing the need for glasses or conventional lenses. This gives your child the confidence to play without the fear of losing a lens or breaking their glasses. No more standing on the sidelines!
Myopia can lead to a shopping list of eye problems in later life. The same is true of short-sightedness. Short-sighted eyes are more susceptible to retinal tears or detachments because of the stretching but upon the eye. Thankfully, Ortho-K allows children to slow the advancement of degenerative eye problems using firm, ‘retainer-like’ contact lenses.
Ortho-K slows the advance of these conditions at an early age without the need for surgery or spectacles. Ortho-K lenses are worn at night, so there is no discomfort experienced while blinking and within a week your children will experience results.
Some children using Ortho-K begin to experience noticeable improvements within a few hours of use. With regular use of Ortho-K, your child can expect to experience 20/20 daytime vision after a week.
Orthokeratology is a safe, nonsurgical treatment that involves the wearing of gas-permeable contact lenses that are worn overnight. While your child is asleep, the lenses apply pressure to the cornea, gently reshaping the eye to allow improved vision in the morning that lasts all day.
Unlike glasses that can get lost or broken during play, Ortho-K offers all the benefits of contact lenses or glasses without the danger of your child losing them. The lenses are rigid and sit upon the eye. This means that unlike soft contact lenses, there is no risk of losing a lens behind the eye.
Ortho-K for children is nothing new. Orthokeratology lenses have been around since the 1960s, so the science behind contact lens safety is well understood. Just like regular contact lenses, all you need to do is maintain good cleaning and hygiene discipline. These days, the technology is advanced enough to allow Ortho-K lenses to fully oxygenate your child’s eye and maintain good eye health. A number of studies agree that children have less trouble adapting and learning to use contact lenses than adults.
Ortho-K For Astigmatism Sufferers
If you suffer from Astigmatism, Orthokeratology can be a non-intrusive way to correct your sight. Ortho-K lenses reshape your cornea to improve your vision.
Astigmatism is a common and usually minor eye condition that causes blurred or distorted vision. It occurs when the cornea or lens isn’t a perfectly curved shape. People who suffer from myopia or hypermetropia may also suffer from astigmatism. Ortho-K can help with all of these refractive error conditions.
If left untreated, astigmatism can cause headaches, eye strain and tiredness. These symptoms are compounded after periods of concentration and long-term focus.
Astigmatism is usually the result of an irregular-shaped cornea or lens. The cornea should be regularly curved like the surface of a football, but in cases of astigmatism it has an irregular curve, more like the shape of a rugby ball. This means that light rays entering the eye aren’t focused properly, creating a blurred image.
Ortho-K For Astigmatism
For sufferers of astigmatism, Ortho-K provides hassle-free correction. These firm lenses are pain-free and are as easy to maintain as regular contact lenses. They are non-intrusive into your lifestyle in the way that glasses and regular contact are not because you only need to wear them at night.
Ortho-K lenses are worn at night and apply pressure to the cornea to reshape the eye and allow light rays to focus properly. Users frequently experience noticeable improvements within a few hours of use. With regular use of Ortho-K, you can expect to experience 20/20 daytime vision after a week.
In many cases, the symptoms of astigmatism are so mild that treatment isn’t needed to correct your vision. But for more serious cases, Ortho-K lenses are a safe, convenient and effective way to correct astigmatism.
If you’re interested in Ortho-K lenses, speak to an Ortho-K expert today.
