Our own Dr. Singh is now wearing Ortho-K rigid lenses at night so that she can be without glasses or contact lenses all day long. Ortho-K lenses (such as Acuvue Abiliti Overnight lenses) are rigid lenses worn during sleep at night to reshape the cornea, like “braces for your eyes”, so that vision is clear without glasses or contact lenses all day long. Dr. Faria’s knowledge and guidance made the journey easier.
Q- Dr. Singh- As the busy working mother of a pre-schooler and a toddler, what made you want to try Ortho-K?
A- I have always wanted to have some freedom from glasses but found that soft contact lenses would dry my eyes out for everyday wear. Furthermore, because of dry eyes and other reasons, I did not want to get laser eye surgery. SO, this was the perfect in between and it has changed my life!
Q- Dr. Faria- What made Dr. Singh a good candidate? Which patients would also make good candidates and why?
A- When looking for a good Ortho-K candidate I think about two major factors; the person’s eye structure and a person’s goals. For the eye structure component I’m looking for someone with an eye shape and prescription that will work well for Ortho-K. Next I look at the person’s goals, which can include things like being more glasses free or wanting a way to slow the changes in their myopia. Dr. Singh was a good candidate because she met the criteria for her eye shape and she was excited to be less reliant on glasses during the day.
Q- Dr. Singh- What was the initial fitting with Dr. Faria like? What happened and what did it feel like?
A- First of all, putting in hard contact lenses was completely different than putting in soft lenses so it did take a little bit of practice and direction from Sarah/Dr. Faria to get them in the eyes. Once they were in, I definitely felt them more than you would a soft lens but Dr. Faria reminded me to look down and that helped them feel a little more comfortable.
Once I was ready, Dr. Faria started off by checking my vision with the lenses and I could see down to the 20/20 line in the right eye and 20/25 line in the left eye, which was pretty good! He then checked the fit of the lenses behind the slit lamp, put in a yellow dye which just makes your eyes look yellow for a little bit. He said the fit looked great and then I learned how to take the lenses out of my eyes, which again, was a different process than soft lenses but there are a few handy tips that both Sarah and Dr. Faria gave me to make it easier.
Q- Dr. Faria- Were there any challenges in fitting Dr. Singh? What did she need to know and do in the first few days?
A- Some of the challenges in fitting Dr. Singh actually had to do with her age. Children are extremely responsive to Ortho-K as their corneas are flexible and can respond well to the treatment in a short period of time. The older we get and the more rigid the cornea becomes, the longer it takes (weeks to months) for full vision clarity. Glare can also be an issue in older individuals more so than children. The molding process creates peripheral defocus which is actually intended and beneficial in controlling myopia in children, adults however are less tolerant to this peripheral defocus which can create bothersome glare. So Dr. Singh needed to know that in those first few days, things will not be fully clear and this is normal during the initial molding process.
Q- Dr. Singh- What was the first night like? The first week?
A- At the beginning of the first night, the lenses felt a little uncomfortable but not painful; however, as soon as I fell asleep, it was no problem! As the week went on, I got a little more used to the feeling of the hard lenses on the eyes although unlike soft lenses (which almost feel like nothing as you get used to them), you are still aware of the Ortho-K lenses. My eyes felt a little dry at the beginning but if I put in some artificial tears in the morning and as needed throughout the day, I was okay.
In terms of vision, the first few days were still blurry and I had no glasses that had the correct prescription so that took some adjustment. I was on maternity leave then so I did not have to drive. At the 1 week mark, the vision was quite remarkable and clear for me!Q-
Dr. Faria- When did you see Dr. Singh get excited about the results? (the “magic moment”) How fast was the process? How many lenses did you use?
A- I would say that after the first week is when I could see the excitement from Dr. Singh, which was actually a little faster than I expected! I was so glad to hear how happy she was being able to get up from bed and not have to worry about wearing her contacts or glasses during the day. We used a total of 2 pairs of lenses to fully correct her prescription, this was determined using imaging technology (Myah) to look at the post-treatment shape of her eye as well as checking for any residual prescription.
Q- Dr. Singh- How is your new normal now and how long have you now been happy with the results? Would you ever go back to glasses and contacts?
A- new normal is using the Ortho-K lenses. My kids got sick multiple times during the winter (big surprise haha), so it was a little difficult to put the lenses in at night sometimes, so I decided I would go back to glasses but after a short time of wearing the glasses, I really missed the Ortho-K!
I honestly don’t think I would go back to glasses in the near future because I am enjoying being clear, comfortable and glasses-free all day long.
Questions for both doctors: What are some of the takeaways & challenges of Ortho-K?
Hygiene is Crucial-Because Ortho-K sit on your eye overnight, they need to be clean to ensure the eye remains healthy. Eye infections are preventable by properly cleaning the lenses on a daily basis. All this will be thoroughly discussed during the training session to keep your eyes happy, healthy and seeing clearly.
Adjustment to the lenses-At the beginning, the eyes are getting used to a hard lens sitting on the surface so of course there is minor discomfort which is short-lived, and only during that time just before bed and first thing in the morning. Soft lenses are on all day long and for some people can feel dry, so not having to wear anything on the eyes during the day is great!
Ortho-K is Not Permanent (you need to keep wearing nighttime lenses)-When Ortho-K is discontinued, the eyes will return to their original shape within a few weeks. This is one of the benefits of this kind of treatment as it’s not a permanent change! On your Ortho-K journey we will be monitoring regularly to ensure you have clear and comfortable vision that continues to align with your goals.
Patience is Key-The first week is a big adjustment as the lens works every night to get the right shape so your vision changes each day, but it’s also exciting seeing the changes and improvement! It might be best to start the lens on a Friday so that you have the whole weekend to adjust and not have as blurry vision at school/work, etc. at the start. Be patient and consistent and the results will show up.
Myopia Control as Well as Correction-Myopia control is a term referring to a collection of treatments that help slow myopia over time. The majority of these treatments work because of the principle of peripheral defocus which gives signals to the brain to reduce the rate at which the eye grows. The molding process of Ortho-K creates peripheral defocus on the cornea which creates myopia control without needing to wear lenses during the day.
Age and Prescription Matter-The “ideal” patient is between 7-16 years old with a low to moderate myopic prescription, but older ages and higher prescriptions can work well in certain circumstances. Swimmers particulary love Ortho-K freedom!
If Ortho-K sounds interesting to you, please speak with one of our optometrists at Pierce Family Vision to see if you or your child would be a good candidate. We are very excited to bring Ortho-K to our young myopic patients!
We look forward to seeing patients of all ages for regular eye exams as the weather gets better. See you soon!
