Most everyone knows how effective glasses and contact lenses can be at restoring 20/20 vision. Correcting vision problems is one way to go, but can a condition like nearsightedness actually be cured? Read on as an Oxnard, CA optometrist talks about nearsightedness and how Ortho-K, a new contact lens technology, comes pretty darn close to curing this condition.  

What Causes Nearsightedness?

  The eyes may be one of the smaller organs of the body, but they do amazing things, all the same. The components that make up your eyes work together with light to create the images you see. Your cornea, the outer surface of the eye, bends incoming light so that it lands on the lens, which sits at the middle of the eye. From there, light rays land on the retina in the back of the eye, which receives and organizes visual information before sending it to the brain. Your cornea and your lens work together to focus light on the retina. How light lands on the retina determines how clearly an object is portrayed. Nearsightedness is caused by an overly curved cornea. When your cornea is too curved, it alters the angle at which incoming light lands on the lens. This results in a blurry or unfocused image.  

Ortho-K Lenses – A New Way to Correct Nearsightedness

  Ortho-K lenses, also known as orthokeratology, are custom-fitted, gas permeable contact lenses that are designed to gradually reshape your cornea while you sleep. By reshaping the cornea, Ortho-K lenses correct the excess curvature that causes nearsightedness. After a night of wearing the lenses, patients can go without their glasses or contacts for a day or two, so the effects are temporary. However, wearing Ortho-K lenses each night allows you to conduct your daytime activities without the need for corrective eyewear. Ortho-K can also help correct other types of vision problems cause by imperfections in the cornea, including:

• Mild astigmatisms
• Age-related vision loss or presbyopia
• Farsightedness
• Can slow the progression of childhood nearsightedness

 

Am I a Good Candidate for Ortho-K Lenses?

  Both adults and children can reap the benefits of Ortho-K lenses. You’re likely a good candidate if:

• You participate in contact sports and prefer to go without corrective eyewear while competing
• You wear contacts and you work in a dust work environment
• You have mild to moderate nearsightedness
• You want to be free of corrective eyewear, such as glasses and contact lenses

  If you have more questions or wish to schedule a consultation with one of our eye doctors, please feel free to call our Oxnard, CA optometry office today!