Letting your child to wear over night contact lense

[Greenleave]

My 9 yrs old needs glasses, she is near sighted(last time checked was -0.5). I am thinking of using Ortho-K. Do you use it? Know anyone who uses it? Especially young age children. My husband thinks we should stick with usual glasses.

I tried ortho k after developing dry eyes with daily wear contacts. My eyes are -4.75, this was the upper end of treatment limit. It was about 4 years ago. It was very difficult, I found the removal of hard lenses in the morning fiddly and hard to do I had to use a plunger device.Some days taking out the lenses actually hurt my eyeball and I used lubricant drops to ease the seal. Also if the glass lenses had sat slightly off centre overnight my vision was poor as not fully corrected but couldn't use glasses as then over corrected. On the days it worked it was wonderful but I gave up after 4 months and found new disposable lenses . I think it would be hard for a child to manage.

If your dd is distressed about glasses now and you are not helping her overcome it, how us she going to feel when these lenses stop working? As others have said they will.
I agree that it is a hard sell, but sell it you must.

MrsDoyle: if she has to wear them then she has to wear them, we are nearsighted family anyway, it was a shock for her last time as she thought she had perfect vision(I knew she didnt).

I have worn them, they worked really well but I just didn't take to them. Found them really hard to put in and take out. I had the same experience as dottycat123

Thanks all, I will give it a go I think. I will take all your advices here and be very careful with hygiene, camping plan etc.

Another ortho-k wearer here. Had them for three years and they are brilliant. I had gas permeable for about 8 years and then soft daily disposables for about 9. They were always dry and a faff and the ortho k have been brilliant. They are slightly uncomfortable to get used to but you are basically asleep when they are in.

In terms of eye health if you are scrupulous about cleaning then my understanding is they are better for your eyes than softs as you have them in for a much shorter period of time (mine are in for about 7.5 hours but I guess a little kid would be nearer 10-11 hours) and they are more permeable than softs.

That said the attitude to glasses has changed phenomenally in the last twenty years (DM who is a primary teacher calls it the Harry Potter effect) DS first glasses aged eight had Avengers on them and he loved them. He's worn glasses full time for the last couple of years and is only now (age 12) looking at contacts because it's a pain for sport.

I use them, have done for about 10 years. I find them very easy to use. They may not be as comfortable as soft lenses, but the beauty is you put them in then shut your eyes to sleep. Can be a little tricky to remove in the morning, especially if your eyes are a little dry. I love them, no more worrying about lenses when swimming etc. Only actually wear mine 2 or 3 nights a week now, this is enough for me to have perfect vision all the time!

Hi op. I have needed specs since I was three, over twenty years later, and I have been in contacts since the age of twelve, my eyes are struggling more than ever. I'm currently a -7 prescription and was -5.25 when I began needing contacts. I much like your dd didn't wear my glasses at all and I'm now only unable to recognise anything other than loose shapes without my glasses.
Furthermore the long term lense use has damaged my eyes as the oxygen hasn't been able to get my eyes correctly.
Encourage her to wear specs and ration lenses use for her baby eyes.

Sorry if this was bossy/moody/stress/ horrible. I am just painfully frustrated with my own position and would hate for anyone to end up in the same condition as me visually
Lots of love to you and your

Wow I had never heard of these, wonder if my DD would be suitable.

Tbh op I had reservations of DD trying contacts at 19. She has been wearing glasses since I think 12 or 13 and me personally I wouldn't of been happy about trying these at such a young age, clumsy, forgetful was bad enough nagging her when she got ears pierced.

Ps I also questioned at my DD last appointment as her eyesight has got worse, she said it has slowed down at bit wasn't much change from her last check up, but won't know until she is about 26. That's when she will be able to have eye op. They won't do before then. She hates having to wear glasses and I had to kind of take a step back from lecturing her about contacts as only time I wear glasses is when the sun is out. So yes not all kids think it's cool to wear glasses especially if needed all the time

When I was about 12 I was prescribed gas permeable lenses as my vision at that point was -6.00 and the thought was that it would slow it down. It made no real difference and I still ended up with a prescription of -10.

-0.50 really is nothing. However I understand that you are hoping that this will slow down any deterioration.

op my eyes are -12 and still deteriorating. I've never heard of these lenses and am gutted they weren't about when I was younger / had better sight. I worry about what will happen to my sight as I'm only 30 and there doesn't seem to be anywhere left to go. Luckily soft lenses agree with me so I don't have to wear glasses which look ridiculous on me as they warp my head and eyes when viewed from the other side of the lens ie how it appear to everyone but me.

From the small amount of reading I've done since reading your op I would say the downsides are the costs, the number of visits you need to make to get it right and the lack of info on how effective this is. I think them being uncomfortable would improve over time.

I would suggest you got your daughter to pick glasses on the understanding that you will investigate ortho k. Get her to wear them so she can get used to them and has a back up in case she struggles to get her lenses in one night or decided to give up.

Broody: I personally dont like contact lenses, I dont like any touch to my eyes, my husbands wears them when he plays tennis etc. This isnt normal contact lenses though. I understand other risks, we will consider it all in the checks up.

Imsticking: she doesnt really need glasses now as she can still read, watch tivi, see everything at school so I could force her to wear them when I am home(which is little as I do long hours). However I take your advice Imsticking, thank you.

To PP saying her prescription is too mild to need anything, they often only partially correct in children. So your eyesight could be measured as a -6 severity but your prescription may only be -3 etc.

I had soft sleep in contacts for a while. But I didn't rest my eyes often enough and started getting worrying symptoms on my eyes (extra blood vessels growing) when they examined them, so I stopped and went back to regular contacts.

Green, I Wear Ortho K, as do my DB and DS. DB was the first to get them at age 13, 5 years ago now, as his eyesight was getting rapidly worse (he got them at - 4).

DS's sight was going the same way, and DH is -8.5, so we wanted to stop DS's progressing any further, which the ortho k has done. My sight is -1 but a mix of curiosity and being fed up of glasses and contacts made me try them too. The optician said he'd never tried them on anyone over 20 before so it was interesting for him too (still charged me full whack though, the fucker, even though he didn't have to give me multiple appointments teaching me how to put them in and take them out )

DB doesn't find them uncomfortable, but DS and I often do just after putting them in. But as we're going to bed as soon as we put them in, it really has little or no impact.

Pm me if you want to ask anything, and best of luck with whatever you decide!

OreoDream- No optometrist in th U.K. would partially correct a myopic 9 year old, under correction is thought to be a driver for progression.
Some of the stories in this thread are making my toes curl.

Just to be clear to those talking about the 30 day extended wear softs that you sleep in the ortho-k are completely different. They are not extended wear and in for shorter than most people wear daytime lenses for. They also let more oxygen through as they are similar to gp lenses.

WhitePhantom: thanks so much, I will certainly have more question after my appointment and if we decide to go with it(it takes time for the lenses to be custom made and many check ups after).

Reading more on google today and I am surprised that it hasnt been advertised well here. It could be mostly due to the cost.

My ds is 11 and has worn contact lenses for a couple of years. It was the Optician that recommended them.
They suggestedthe daily wear lenses so that he had a fresh pair in every morning rather than having to clean them ,as that is where issues can arise with children.
He loves them and took to them straight away.

Unfortunately her myopia progressed so fast, she is 2.5R and 1.75L. I was shocked, this time its me on tears. We have to wear glasses first for 3 weeks then the Ortho-K treatment can start. So we have decided to go for it as she is also suitable.

dd wears ortho k. I am very very short sighted with associated issues. We are hoping to hold back any change in her sight. Shes hasn't changed in the 9 months she started wearing them. That's anecdotal of course, but if you can afford it, have kids who can be responsible who are likely to get highly myopic then I'd suggest strongly considering it.

You are in tears? Seriously. Over this. Guessing it's picking at a scab with you or something. Please stop projecting and ask yourself why your dd is getting so upset.
Just so we are clear, I entirely get that needing specs is a big deal for a teenager. I was that teenager. But there are so many cool options now, you need to be stronger over this.
I really hope this is the worst thing your dd ever has to deal with.

Hold up. Are you saying that her prescription has gone from -0.25 to -2.50? In how long? This is a huge jump.