orthokeratology

myopia control on the BBC

/ Neil@Eyelines / Leave a comment

The BBC World Service’s CrowdScience website has a couple of interesting pieces about Short-sightedness and myopia control.

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The link below is to a video that they have produced showing some of the measures that are being used in Singapore to try and reduce childhood Myopia.

Singapore’s measures to reduce short-sightedness

This is a clip from the longer podcast

Are Screens Bad For My Child’s Eyes

 

I am a big advocate of the benefits of natural light  and in reducing screen time and  I have been very proactive in telling my young patients to try and get at least 14 hrs per week outside but as any parent know it is very difficult for a teenager (and often even younger) to be parted from their smart phones/tablets/laptops.

 

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When I speak to my young patients who are doing lots of studying about what they do when they take a break from the revision or homework –  almost all of them tell me that they will go straight on some form of  social media – this may be a mental break from the Battle of Passchendaele or from conjugating Latin verbs but it will not give the eyes a rest. 

 

They do look very skeptical when I suggest that a break should be going outside – without their devices. I have had one parent suggest to me that they feel it would take surgical removal to take away the phone from their 15 year old child.

 

Currently Atropine is not licensed for myopia control use in the UK. But as has been mentioned in previous blog posts  we do use OrthoKeratology  how do you solve a problem like myopia 

and the new mi-Sight soft contact lens  miSight Myopia Control options for Myopia control.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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how do you solve a problem like myopia

/ Neil@Eyelines / 1 Comment

In a previous blog post I mentioned the increase in Myopia that some have likened to an epidemic.

Apart from correcting the vision traditionally with spectacles or daily wear contact lenses what else is available – especially for  children.

 

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Refractive Surgery has been an option in various form since the mid 1960’s and whilst techniques have been improving it is still usually not recommended for those under the age of 21 (or at least until any prescription changes have stabilised).

For a lot of  patients the thought of having any form of surgery will be enough to dissuade them from this option.

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Another possibility is Orthokeratology – or Ortho K – a technique of overnight contact lens wear that gently reshapes the cornea by about the thickness  of a hair. I have been using this technique in the practice for nearly 10 years.  (Previous Blog Post on Ortho K)

Until recently I have used Ortho K  mainly on adults but in the last 6 months I have been fitting the  lenses more and more to children with excellent results.

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One of the first youngsters that I fitted last summer was Isabella  whose extended  family have been with the practice for many years. Isabella had been wearing spectacles for six months and her myopia was increasing rapidly, her father is quite myopic so Isabella was concerned that she would follow a similar pattern. We discussed all of the options available and decided to fit Ortho K – with great success.  Isabella has recently featured in a news article  about  Ortho K on ITV Meridian News.

ITV Meridian News Feature

Since Isabella’s success I have had an increasing number of children coming along and being fitted with Ortho K and it has proven to be a wonderful tool to enable children to cope with an active lifestyle without having to worry about vision, glasses or contact lenses during the day.

 

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If you are interested in Ortho K or any aspect of either your eyes or your childs eyes  then contact us to have a chat about it.

 

 

eye(had a)dream

/ Neil@Eyelines / 1 Comment

Eyedream contact lens vision therapy is a modern take on Orthokeratology – a technique that reshapes the cornea and enables clear vision throughout the day without the need for spectacles or contact lenses.

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No need to worry about over wearing your contact lenses
No need to worry about dry dusty environments and irritable eyes.
No need to struggle with sports and your spectacles

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Eyedream is suitable for low to mid myopes (shortsighted people) who want the freedom of clear vision without spectacles, contact lenses or are worried about the risks of surgical techniques.

Custom made contact lenses are worn overnight that gently reshape your cornea and give you clear vision throughout the day. Once your vision is corrected you need to wear a pair of retainer lenses every night.
(I have several patients who only need to put in their Eyedream lenses every second or third night)

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Orthokeratology and eyedream lenses have also been shown to control the progression of Myopia in Children and adults. As well as gently flattening the cornea (this is how they correct the shortsightedness) there has been some evidence that suggests that the use of these lenses will also reduce the growth in eyeball length – which is a major factor in the progression of myopia.

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At eyelines we have been fitting Eyedream lenses for the last 8 years with a lot of very happy patients using the technique. If you are interested contact us for further information.