Parents Opt For Unapproved Treatments Instead Of Glasses For Their Children

Yiwen Lee, a mother of 2, recalls how her daughter got glasses when she was only in second grade. She explained how, within a year of getting them it became mandatory for her to wear it all the time. For advice, she turned to her closest friend who was not really an expert but recommended Orthokeratology also known as OrthoK to prevent her eyesight from getting worse. It worked and her daughter’s eyesight didn’t decline even after graduating from college.
OrthoK is somewhat like orthodontia for the eyes. You have to apply force to a particular part of the eyeball that deals with focusing," says Dr. Thomas Steinemann, who is a spokesman in the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Wearing specially engineered contact lenses during sleep, in contrast to the traditional framesdirect ones, helps to flatten the outer front curvature of the cornea. This alters the way the light enters and enables short sighted individuals to see more clearly without wearing spectacles or lenses, throughout the day. In spite of all the possible hazards and risks many people are opting for orthokeratology to improve the eyesight of children having moderate to mild near sightedness. The practise of Orthokeratology started in the mid-60’’s. It requires multiple sessions. Every other night or every night, the patient must wear the specially designed lenses to maintain proper vision. It is approved by the Food and Drug Administration and can be used by people of all ages.
The most common risk of using OrthoK lenses is eye infection. It is most likely to happen in the contact lenses when a person is sleeping. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that sleeping in any kind of lenses increases the risk of getting eye infections, six times to eight times more. Most infections are usually harmless but there have been instances where patient has lost their eye sight. The treatment is a bit expensive than conventional contact lenses or glasses.
Myopia Is Rising Among Kids
The percentage of people with near sightedness or myopia is highest than ever. According to a report of World Health Organization and framesdirect.com which was published in 2016, around 22.9% of the total world population has myopia and 2.7% suffers from extreme myopia. They estimate the figures will rise up to around 49% and 9% respectively. Based on a research published in the year 2009, specialists at the National Institute of Health state that around 41% of Americans and around 90% of teens in China are myopic. The reason for its increase in the United States of America is the its changing demographic.
The Most Common Reason For Getting Myopia
Today’s children are spending so much time in front of their screen which is very harmful for their eyes. During Industrial Revolution, people used their eyes predominantly for distance seeing, because of which myopia was far more less than today. Starring at the cell phones or computer screens for too long, restricts the eye from proper exercise. Myopia can often lead to glaucoma, macular degeneration, cataracts, retinal detachment and other diseases as the person grows old. Instead of staring at computer and cell phone screens, children should play outside and naturally use their distance vision. Even 40 minutes of outdoor games can slower the degeneration process.
Alternative Treatment
Different specialists feel that the dangers of OrthoK are sufficiently little and recommend the use of this product. It is an extraordinary treatment, particularly for youngsters who swim, since they never wear their lenses in the pool. It not only reduces the progression of nearsightedness, but also improves the vision dramatically. In a recent review, it was found that OrthoK slowed the progression of nearsightedness by almost 93%
Other Treatments Of Myopia
Atropine drops is a kind of a solution which is used during eye examination. It dilates the pupil so that the doctor can examine the eye properly. In the recent studies, it was found that the medicine somewhat ceases the progression of nearsightedness. However, it must be used in diluted form.