By Han Hyun-sook
Published: August 28, 2019, at 10:48 a.m.

The progression of myopia in growing children is closely associated with axial length, which refers to the length of the eye from front to back. In general, greater axial elongation is associated with more severe myopia.

Studies comparing children who wear glasses with those who use orthokeratology lenses have reported less axial elongation in children wearing orthokeratology lenses.

This suggests that orthokeratology lenses may help slow the progression of myopia to some extent. Children are generally not candidates for refractive surgery and therefore usually need glasses for vision correction.

Orthokeratology lenses are worn only while sleeping and may allow children to see clearly during the day without wearing glasses. For this reason, they are attracting increasing attention as an option for childhood vision correction and myopia management.

Orthokeratology lenses are specially designed rigid contact lenses worn during sleep. They temporarily reshape the cornea without surgery, providing daytime correction of myopia and certain degrees of astigmatism while also helping slow myopia progression in children.