What is Ortho-k Lens? 

OK Lens also known as Orthokeratology Lens or Ortho- K lens , is a custom made Hard lens material which you will wear to sleep. The lenses will help to shape the cornea during the night while you are sleeping. You will experience clear vision when you wake up the next day without the use of spectacles. Correction of the vision with Ortho-k lenses is temporary and requires ongoing overnight wear to maintain it. 

How Does it work?

Ortho-K works by flattening the cornea , which affects the light ray entering the eyes. Higher myopia may require more flattening of the cornea. So during day time after removing Ortho-K lens, the cornea will maintain the flatness and user will be able to enjoy clear vision temporarily.

How Ortho-K lens helps in Myopia?

Myopia, also known as near or short sight, is becoming increasingly common in children, which if allowed to progress can lead to long-lasting and detrimental effects on vision and eye health in adulthood.

Fortunately, there is a lot that can be done to help slow myopia progression in children, including prescribing special types of spectacles or contact lenses, and promoting good habits like reduced time on close work and more outdoor time.

When it comes to myopia control treatments, ortho-k has been shown to slow progression of myopia in children by about a half, and currently has the most research supporting its myopia control characteristics than other myopia control methods

How are ortho-k lenses fitted?

Specialized equipment and expertise is required to achieve successful ortho-k lens fit. In most countries this would be conducted by an optometrist or eye doctor.

To assess suitability for ortho-k both refraction (eye prescription) and the shape profile of the cornea (the clear dome at the front of the eye) needs to be measured. Corneal shape is measured using an instrument called a corneal topographer, that takes a photograph of a light pattern reflected onto the eye. Computer software then processes the photograph to build a simulated 3-dimensional model of the cornea.

The computer model of the cornea is used to calculate the best fit ortho-k lens. For some ortho-k designs the eye doctor will select a pre-made lens that best fits the model. For other ortho-k lens designs the computer model is entered into different computer software that designs a custom ortho-k lens that needs to be made especially for you.

Regardless of the ortho-k design that is used, the tried and tested lens selection and design process will likely result in an ortho-k lens that will fit extremely well to the eye – like a custom made suit. This measurement and modelling process is so reliable that it’s generally at this stage, before a lens is even put on the eye, that an eye doctor is able to tell you if ortho-k is likely to work.

If shown to be suitable you should be advised of the steps that need to be followed to complete the lens fit process. It generally takes more visits to fit ortho-k compared to standard daily soft contact lenses, mostly because ortho-k lenses are custom designed for each individual case

What is the standard treatment plan?

While the number of visits that are required to achieve successful ortho-k lens fit can vary widely depending refraction and cornea shape, a typical visit schedule will be:

1. Refraction and eye measurements – these will be used to order the lens.
2. Lens collection visit to be shown how to apply, remove and care for ortho-k lenses.
3. Morning visit after the first night of lens wear – this visit is to ensure that overnight lens wear has been successful, and to reinforce lens handling advice. Early indication of lens fit success can sometimes be assessed, though full effect shouldn’t be expected until 1-week of overnight lens wear.
4. Morning visit after around 1-week of overnight lens wear – this is when the full effect can be expected and the optometrist / eye doctor able to assess if lens fit needs to be altered. In some cases it can take longer to achieve full effect so you shouldn’t be surprised if the full effect has not been achieved at this visit.

Ongoing visits will depend on whether or not the lens needs to be altered to improve fit. It is important to understand that ortho-k lenses are custom designed and lens wear is needed to fully understand how an individual eye will respond to ortho-k lens wear.

In some cases the optometrist / eye doctor will want to continue wear for a few more nights before deciding if a good lens fit has been achieved. In other cases they might decide to order a slight variation in lens design to improve fit. Either way ongoing appointments will start to spread out once optimal lens fit is achieved.

You should be prepared for 4-6 visits over a 3-6 month period depending on the complexity of the case to achieve maximum vision correction.

How does Ortho-K feels like?

It is definitely different compare to soft lenes. Initial wearing of Ortho-K lenses will feels like there is some debris inside your eyes, and your eyes will be watery and tend to keep blinking more. So that’s why the lens is recommended to wear it to sleep. But after a period of time, your eyes will be able to get used to it and you will have less sensation of the lens inside your eyes. 

Is Ortho-K lens safe for me?

All contact lenses can increase risk of infection as a result of the lens being placed on your eye. Ortho-k lenses introduce an extra risk from being worn during sleep when the eyes are closed,

Blinking is a natural cleaning and defense mechanism for eyes, and the eye not blinking during sleep reduces the effectiveness of this defense mechanism. Which means you may have a slightly higher chance of getting eye infection.

The good news is that risk from infection can be greatly reduced if proper cleaning steps are followed, and also to avoid the lenses and their cases coming into contact with tap water. 

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