Contact lenses for sleeping??

Lately I have heard from several people about these "contact lenses" that kids wear while sleeping. They are supposed to reverse the near-sightedness, and after a few years (don't know how many) the child can do away with their regular glasses during the day. I think it only works when you are still in your teens, and some people actually start their child on it as young as 8 years old. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Does anyone actually have any real experience with Ortho K? I took my daughter for an eye exam with my doctor as I caught her squinting at the TV. Found out that she is 1 dioptre myopic with slight astigmatism. My doctor is recommending Ortho K as she is only 8 and her dioptre is still very low and with Ortho K, doc thinks can possibly arrest the myopia and even reverse.


I can't imagine putting contact lenses on my 8 year old as even putting eye drops is a major production!!! I myself started wearing hard lenses in my teens and it took a LOT of commitment and maturity to persevere with the pain till my eyes developed the necessary callous not to feel the pain anymore. Ortho K lenses are gas permeable, which means they are also rigid like hard lenses. If anyone has any experience with Ortho K I would love to hear from you as my husband and I are really dithering on this. We only want what's best for our daughter but right now I am leaning more towards just getting her glasses and hoping her myopia does not get too bad too soon. Thanks!

Thanks for your reply, raincatcher. The Ortho K lenses are not meant to be worn during the day though. They are meant to be worn overnight. The logic being there would be less discomfort with their eyes closed. Me, I'm thinking my daughter will not be able to sleep at all what with the drama getting them into her eyes in the first place. At her age, the doctor made clear it will be I who will have to put the lenses in at night and remove them in the morning. That is why prior to beginning we have to sign a contract committing to the program as there are absolutely no refunds once the lenses are special ordered from the states. They cost A LOT, too.

I just think 8 years old is a bit too young for this. I wouldn't start my son on it until he is 12. But after reading about risks associated with OrthoK (from the links provided by raincatcher), I don't know if I would like to use this method.


From what I heard, the kids need to use it continuously for several years. The part I don't understand is, they do not wear their glasses during the day. So how on earth do they see?

Thanks for your replies. Raincatcher, my optometrist is in Central, but these lenses all need to be ordered from the states as they are only manufactured there so far, and they are specially ordered to fit the curvature of the recipient's eye. The principle behind it is that wearing these lenses stabilize the myopia because they reshape the surface of your cornea. Having worn gas permeable lenses since I was 16, I know for a fact that contact lenses stabilize your power as prior to wearing contacts my power would escalate each time I went for my annual check up. Since switching to contacts they have stabilized, though it has not been reduced. I ended up with a very high prescription anyway, 10 dioptres in one eye and 9 in the other. I am 38 now, and my prescription has not increased since I started wearing contacts at 16.


Notaclue, I feel exactly as you do. I kind of want to take my chances and wait at least till she is 12 to make her switch to contacts. You are right that they will need to use the ortho K continuously overnight in order to keep the cornea's shape stable. Otherwise the whole process will revert to the eye's original state. The only advantage is you will not have to use spectacles during the day. Something about the reshaping of the eye's surface overnight is enough to give you good unaided vision during the day. Also, Ortho K is only prescribed for people with prescription power up to 4 dioptres. Beyond that, Ortho K will not work, hence the target population of young children who get myopia.


As a contact lens wearer, I know that so long as you follow the instructions carefully and maintain strict hygene when handling them, your chances of getting abrasions and infections are greatly minimized. But I do feel that 8 years old is a tad too young, and probably still lacking in the maturity necessary to make the commitment and bear the pain in exchange for a better future.


Again, thanks to all for your inputs.

In addition to safety concerns, I think the daughter should be a key party to this discussion. If she wants to do it, is motivated, and will do it right, then that is a big factor. If she doesn't want to do it, is not motivated, or would do it wrong, then failure is certain on top of surely a huge cost.

I agree Meiquoren. And at 8 years old (she just turned 8 in June) she doesn't really know what she wants. But she does know what she doesn't want, and that is for anyone to go poking with her eye and inserting these lenses. Even now I keep trying to figure out how I would have to put those lenses on her, as putting contacts on one self is an entirely different prospect to putting them on someone else. Plus, doc says I would most probably need to use an apparatus called a plunger to suction the thing out when it is time to remove them, as young children as a general rule cannot coordinate the pulling of the eyelid and blinking out of the lenses. heck, it took me a long time to get the knack of that myself!


Raincatcher, I have no doubt you are right in that given a few more years, she will be asking for contacts herself as I did when I no longer wanted to wear the darn spectacles, especially as they were getting thicker and thicker with the myopia getting worse! At that point she would be able to talk herself through putting up with the hassle and pain in the name of good old fashioned VANITY! Haha

Glasses are definitely the conventional and safest way for short sightedness. Ortho-K has not been scientifically proven to be effective, yet has many side effects... I wouldn't do it, but you were to choose this option, make sure your daughter gets frequent eye checks from a reputable ophthalmologist.

"wait to see if the shortsight of your child is increasing very fast" is the recommendation from my optometrist (or eye doctor), because it is an effective way to slow down the progress of the shortsight. if it is not, no need to go for it. You can have a look :http://www.hkos.hk/hkos-orthokeratology.htm

Hi Notaclue

perhaps ask the Ophthalmologist/Optometrist you have been consulting about Ortho-K if he/she can give referrals of other parents of youngsters that are doing the programme.


I used to work for an Optom specialising in Ortho-k, & while it is not for everyone, it has had a lot of success . It is great for kids BECAUSE their vision is changing & will continue to do so for several years (generally) hence Lasik is not an option till a lot later.

There does involve a bit of patience on both parent/childs part, but please don't disregard it till you have all the info..not just guesswork or ilinformed opinions from those not involved. They are as you will be aware quite different from other types of CL but they do a great job.

All parents have the same concerns, so they should have a patient or 2 that will be happy to discuss it further with you from an informed 'lay' position.


Good luck!

Thanks to all who have given their two cents on this. Very much appreciated. Took my daughter to the eye doctor this afternnoon and ordered eyeglasses. We will forego the Ortho K for now but will not close the door on it. Of course our hope is that her myopia does not increase too fast too soon, nevertheless, I am certain that with more time and a bit more maturity, our options will get wider as well.


The doctor prescribed glasses with both progressive lenses for farsight and reading glasses for near sight. She claims this will be better for her eye and will not tax the muscles too much when she is reading, which she does a whole lot of.


Thanks again for all your inputs!!

Thank you all for some very useful information. I will definitely take kiwozzie's suggestion to ask my optometrist for references. She is from NZ, so probably no worry about having to order from the States.


Actually I asked my son whether he wants to wear Ortho K. Of course he has no idea what they are. But he decided that (for now anyway) he looks smarter in glasses. Wait until he turns teenage.


Banarama, what is your daughter's prescription? Why would she need progressive lenses? My son reads a lot too. His prescription is 1.0 for his right eye and 2.75 for his left eye. I wonder if progressive lenses will be good for him too.

Hi everyone,


Notaclue, my daughter's myopia is 1 dioptre for each eye, and she also has astigmatism. She needed progressive lenses for distance reading as she couldn't see anything from the eye exam till she walked right in front of it! Then she has reading glasses built into the bottom part of her spectacles (you don't notice them though unlike the old style glasses of our grannies!) in order to relax her eye muscles when she is reading. My understanding is that the grade of the reading part is less than the progressive part as she can see much better up close.


Raincatcher, my optometrist is in Central and is a member of PolyVision, but she orders my lenses from Japan. My myopia is very high, 9 on the left and 10 on the right, plus I have very high astigmatism as well. Like you, I cannot wear soft lenses and for the longest time I was wearing hard lenses. In the last 5 years I have switched to RGP lenses. They are special ordered from Japan because they are specially fitted for the asian eye. Accdg to my doctor, lenses from the states as a general rule do not fit well on asian eyes because westerners have rounder corneas while asians have flatter ones. Not chinky eyed myself, so this has nothing to do with big or small eyes, but the shape of the cornea's surface. As a result when I used to wear lenses ordered form the states that had rounder curvature there was always a small gap between the inner lens surface and the surface of my cornea, a gap where dirt and air could get in. Hence, I often had to rinse and rub my eyes because a lot of grit and debris would get in. I have not had that problem since I switched to the ones ordered from Japan. They are also infinitely more comfortable and no longer dry my eyes the way my old ones used to. My eyes are healthier and no longer red at night. They cost 1,500 a pair but I usually don't need to change them till after a year and a half.


It's good that you were able to get a better deal thru Polyvision. I am glad the doctor in Wanchai did not get your business. Hope your eyes stay healthy!


Take care everyone.