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How Can Orthokeratology Help With Myopia Management?

Is your child wearing glasses or contact lenses for myopia? Is their optical prescription continually worsening every 6 months? If so, it may be time for a myopia management program featuring ortho-k contact lenses.

Orthokeratology, or “ortho-k,” is an overnight process of vision correction that leaves your child free of daytime eyewear. Along with the convenience of not having to wear glasses or contacts during the day, ortho-k has been shown to slow down or even stop the progression of a child’s myopia. An additional — yet compelling — benefit is the reduced risk of developing serious ocular conditions and diseases later in life, such as macular degeneration and retinal detachment.

If your child has myopia, speak with Dr. Arlene Schwartz regarding the benefits of wearing ortho-k lenses for myopia management.

Get ready to throw away your Glasses!

Ortho-K Overnight Vision Correction has been shown to slow the progression of children’s nearsightedness.

Custom-fitted, gentle vision shaping contact lenses are worn while your child sleeps to temporarily reshape the cornea to improve vision during the day. Your child will be able to see clearly without the need for eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Studies show that the progression of myopia is also slowed with Ortho-K therapy.

Dr. Arlene Schwartz is certified to prescribe Paragon CRT, Contex OK, and Euclid VST designs. Our careful selection process permits more than 90% of our patients undergoing orthokeratology to leave with their first or second pair of therapeutic lenses.

Since 1989, Dr. Schwartz has built a reputation in Westchester County for providing advanced vision care for children including myopia control and vision therapy.

What Is Myopia?

Myopia, or nearsightedness, is an extremely prevalent eye condition that begins in childhood and usually continues to worsen during the teenage years. Myopia results when the eye shape becomes more elongated as a child grows. This causes light from distant objects to focus in front of, rather than precisely on the retina, causing blurred and distorted vision.

The continual eyeball elongation causes the optical prescription to worsen over the years, generally into the mid-to-late teens. At Hartsdale Family Eyecare, we measure the axial length of the eye to monitor progression.

While glasses or regular contact lenses correct distorted vision, they don’t address the underlying problem, and thus are unable to prevent your child’s prescription from increasing into young-adulthood. Orthokeratology, on the other hand, addresses the root cause of myopia and can halt its progression through hyperopic defocus.

Peripheral Hyperopic defocus is when light passes through your eye but falls behind the retina in the periphery. Because the light is not being directed properly, modern research suggests that the body’s chemistry well change in response to these signals.

Understanding Orthokeratology

Orthokeratology goes by a few names:

  • Ortho-k
  • CRT (Corneal Reshaping Therapy)
  • Gentle Vision Shaping System (GVT or GVST)
  • Vision Shaping Treatment (VST)
  • Corneal Molding

Regardless of the name used, ortho-k is an established non-surgical method of vision correction that has been safely used for over 20 years. We will carefully measure the child’s eye and order custom-fitted and specially-designed rigid gas permeable contact lens molds.

The ortho-k lenses are to be worn overnight, during which time they gently mold the shape of the cornea. The lenses are then removed in the morning, leaving your child with crisp and clear vision all day long. As mentioned above, ortho-k not only corrects vision but can also slow —or even halt — the progression of myopia in children.

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Ortho-K Is An Investment For Lifelong Healthy Vision

By giving your child the gift of ortho-k lenses, you will improve your child’s daytime vision while also significantly reducing their risk of developing serious eye diseases later in life. The myopia management program at Hartsdale Family Eyecare offers the best chance of controlling myopia and preserving your child’s eyes for a lifetime of clear, comfortable, and healthy vision.

Who Can Benefit From Orthokeratology?

Both children and adults can benefit from the vision correction provided by ortho-k, though ortho-k may be the ideal solution for myopia management in children. While it is too late to slow the progression of myopia in adulthood, myopic children who wear ortho-k lenses can further benefit by lowering any risks associated with ocular diseases later in life.

Are your glasses getting in the way of the game? With Ortho-K, you can get on the field, court or pool without care. See clearly and safely during your sport without the need for glasses or contacts.

What Is The Fitting Process?

At Hartsdale Family Eyecare, our patients undergo a full ortho-k assessment before being fitted for these lenses. We will evaluate the health of your child’s eye and determine the exact corrective prescription and axial length of the eye with our IOL Master. To measure the precise curvature of the child’s cornea, Dr. Arlene Schwartz will use a topographer, ensuring these customized lenses are a perfect fit.

After the initial fitting, patients will be provided with detailed instructions and in-clinic training on how to insert, remove, and care for their ortho-k contact lenses. Periodic check-ups will help ascertain any changes in refraction and corneal topography, and adjustments to the lenses will be made accordingly.

Hartsdale Family Eyecare serves patients from Hartsdale, Westchester, White Plains, Scarsdale, and throughout New York.