Orthokeratology Ortho-k for myopia management

[sweetbaladi]

Greetings, anyone here with experience of Orthokeratology or Ortho-K for myopia management? Am considering this for DS aged 8. I have myopia in my family (-4 to -6) going back four generations 😐and would like to do what I can to improve his vision prospects.

Hi OP. I'm short sighted (-3.25) and my DS is also moderately short sighted at -1.5. I've been looking at Ortho K lenses for when he is a bit older and able to be really strict on the hygiene etc, as I wear contacts sometimes myself.
So although I can't answer your post about ortho K yet, I just wanted to say we've had great success with the Miyosmart lenses for my DS who is 10. He has had them for 2 years now and they stopped his myopia progressing completely. His prescription hasn't changed since he started with the Miyosmart which we're really happy about.

Thank you - so encouraging! And well done for your choice. Have you ever tried him with the daily contacts (MiSight)?

Dd (17) has ortho-k lenses but she’s been wearing soft lenses for years before. The orthok are brilliant but we had a very bad month while she got used to them (quite painful at night) - she was 15/16 when she started and nearly gave up…lenses quite tricky to get out and very easy to lose around the bathroom!

fwiw hygiene is a minimal issue - clean hands and a wash with solution seems to be all that’s needed - new pair every 6 months so no protein removal worries.

Thank you, was she wearing the MiSight contact lenses that are supposed to stop myopia progressing or just regular contacts? I didn't know that Ortho-K can be painful - is this ongoing or did her eyes adapt so no longer an issue?

Ortho-k uses hard (RGP) lenses to mold the front of the cornea overnight, so that you wake up with good vision. They have a secondary affect of preventing myopia from progressing so quickly as it would have otherwise done in many people who use them.

But, yes, they're hard, so you can feel them in your eyes, until your eyes adapt - which can take anything from a few days to a month.

What prescription is your son currently?

-0.50 and -0.75, I realise we are reacting quite early. Am mostly after a solution that will stop / slow the progression of the myopia (as stated above, it runs in my family). If Ortho-K does that, and he wouldn't have the hassle of glasses and/or daily contacts, am thinking it might be worth it?

DD has been wearing Ortho-K for over a decade, since age 11. She has had no , while all her glasses wearing friends have required even increasing strength glasses. She has remained at -1.25. She has never had any issues with them, except occasionally one hasn’t gone in right ( possibly a speck of dust under the lens) and her vision in that eye isn’t as good as the other the next day.

Amazing, thank you, so glad to hear it's been a success! Did you DD experience any pain with Ortho-K? My current plan is to start DS on MiYOSMART spectacles combined with occasional MiSight contact lenses and when he is a little older migrate to Ortho-K. Am very inspired by all your stories.

@sweetbaladi My daughter had no pain at all. She got her lenses shortly after her myopia was picked up and so didn’t wear glasses. I think kids can use them from around the age of 8.

He's not quite short sighted enough yet. It's generally -1.00 (although I'd probably fit them if you and he were very keen and one eye was -1.00 and the other -0.75).

I'd go with Miyosmart glasses first and see how you go with those for a bit.

Thanks for your views - it's what I think I will do for now. Miyosmart glasses and back-up MiSight contacts for occasional use / also to get him used to the idea of contacts for potential Ortho-K use later. What do you think about combining glasses with Atropine?

@sweetbaladijust checking on your progress. Did you go with them in the end and did they slow down the deterioration? In a similar situation with a younger aged child and going with miosmart.

Very interesting. I haven't heard of these lenses before. Are these type of lenses suitable for adults? I have myopia -5&-6 and (am now so old) I need reading glasses to magnify reading material.

They don't often work as well as you get older as the cornea becomes more rigid, especially at higher levels of myopia.

Do you currently wear contact lenses?

My dd used misight up to 16

Yes worn soft lenses since 16. Optician is suggesting varifocal lenses soon.
Wish I'd known of these when I was younger!