High Myopia and Ortho-K Available on the Gold Coast
High Myopia and Ortho-K
Ortho-K is demonstrating increasing promise as a potential method for slowing the progression of myopia in children and teens. In the past, the potential for Ortho-K to be used for both a sight correcting technique and for myopia control was limited by a person’s initial prescription. Up to approximately -4.50 was considered the limit for Ortho-K. There are two approaches they are considered when faced with higher myopia prescriptions and Ortho-K is being considered.
1. Partial Correction of High Myopia in Children with Ortho K
One of the concerns for children and teenagers who are short-sighted is that in most cases the prescription keeps increasing with time. This affects quality of life, but also increases the risk of eye problems in adulthood. Ortho K is gaining recognition as a potential method for helping slow down these increases in prescription. Children who were above the maximum amount that could be corrected with Ortho K might be turned away from the potential benefits, but some promising news comes in a recently published study from Hong Kong*.
This research has demonstrated that when children with high myopia were partially corrected with Ortho K, and wear glasses to correct what-ever was left over, they still experienced a slowing of their prescription changes when compared with children who did not wear Ortho K and instead wore their full distance correction in glasses. Further research is required to repeat these findings, and our preference to get full correction with Ortho-K whenever possible. For more on myopia control in children visit www.nospecs.com.au.
2. Global OK Vision
Global OK Vision or GOV designs allow us to fit higher degrees of myopia than what was possible in the past, and now form an important of our Ortho K program at Harmony Vision Care. While we utilise a variety of designs and techniques in order to fit a much wider range of prescription types, GOV lenses allow us to fit high myopia (greater than -5.00) in those not able to have laser surgery or for potential myopia control. Like all degrees of myopia, the results are dependent on many factors that your optometrists will discuss as part of understanding the expected outcomes for each individual case.
To find out more, contact us.
*Charm J, Cho P. High Myopia-Partial Reduction Ortho-k: A 2-Year Randomized Study. Optom Vis Sci. 2013 Jun;90(6):530-9.
