Overnight contact lens wearing slows myopia in children

Wednesday, April 1 2015 | 00 h 00 min | Vision Science

Orthokeratology may be effective at slowing the progression of myopia in children, according to the results of a meta-analysis published in Optometry and Vision Science.

Orthokeratology (ortho-K), the wearing of custom rigid contact lenses at night, is believed to control myopia in children by shaping the growth of the eye.

The results, gathered from seven separate studies, included data on 435 myopic children between the ages of six and sixteen. The studies measured the increase in axial length over time. After a two-year period it was found that the average difference in axial growth between the group of children receiving the ortho-K treatment and the group without was a quarter of a millimetre.

Despite the findings, the Canadian Ophthalmological Society does not endorse the use of ortho-K due to the risk of contracting microbial keratitis associated with the overnight wearing of rigid contact lenses.

For more information: http://www.cos-sco.ca/advocacy-news/position-policy-statements/orthokeratology-myopia/