It’s called Orthokeratology and it can work for many people if you are a good candidate. This is how it works. You put on a contact lens (a gas permeable one) before you sleep. You sleep, take them out in the morning and you see 20/20 for the rest of the day without wearing contacts or glasses. It’s perfect for people who lead busy lifestyles or who love to swim where wearing glasses/contacts are a hassle or impossible. It’s perfect for people who fear the permanent side effects (dry eyes, reduced contrast sensitivity) of surgery.
For most near-sighted people, their corneas are too steep for how long their eyeballs are. That’s a super simplistic explanation but stay with me. Light is focused in front of the retina causing blur. Wearing the contacts reshape the cornea by flattening the front curvature so that light is focused directly on the retina as it should.
Wearing the retainer lenses at nighttime is similar to wearing braces on your teeth. Like wearing braces and returning every month to the orthodontists, there is a period of adjustment where you may have to return to the optometrist every week so that the doctor can make small adjustments to perfect your vision with orthokeratology. And it may be even better for children who are at risk for getting worse and worse near-sightedness. There are studies that lend strong support that wearing gas permeable lens (the hard contacts you’ve heard of) can reduce nearsightedness progression. Ask us to see if you are a candidate!
Serving the communities of Costa Mesa, Irvine, Newport Beach, Tustin, Santa Ana, Hungtington Beach, and Fountain Valley. Schedule a visit with Dr. Valerie Lam or Dr. Thanh Mai to learn more. Our optometry practice is located in Costa Mesa at 3151 Airway Ave. Suite J2, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.
