Scleral Lens Blog

Eyeglasses vs. Contact Lenses: The Ultimate Battle! Pick a side, because this debate is heating up! Whether you're team eyeglasses or team contact lenses, there's no denying the passion behind each choice. But wait, there's more! Discover the hidden gems and pitfalls of both options.

HOW CAN ORTHO-K IMPROVE YOUR EYESIGHT?

One significant benefit of ortho-k is how it can correct vision overnight and eliminate the need for other forms of vision support during the day, such as other contact lenses or eyeglasses. It works by gently moulding the shape of your cornea while you sleep, so light can focus correctly inside your eye during the day.

One factor that can determine how well ortho-k works for an individual is how often the lenses are worn. Typically, ortho-k lenses require nightly wear for the first several weeks to achieve the desired correction. Once your eyesight is improved, your doctor may recommend a slightly modified schedule with retainer lenses.

What does bilateral myopia mean?

Myopia (nearsightedness) is a vision impairment that causes difficulty in focusing on objects and signs that are far away. The condition is common among children and adults and can occur in one or both eyes. When it occurs in both eyes, it is called bilateral myopia.

Although bilateral myopia affects both eyes, the degree of vision prescription for each myopic eye may vary.

What causes bilateral myopia?

Bilateral myopia occurs when each eyeball is longer than normal, or when the cornea and/or lens is too curved. In rare cases, it can be due to the location of the lens and cornea relative to each other. A combination of these factors can also be responsible for bilateral myopia.

Bilateral myopia is typically detected in childhood, and it is more likely to occur if there is a family history of the condition.

SEE RELATED: What’s the difference between nearsightedness and farsightedness?

Symptoms of bilateral myopia

Bilateral myopia affects visual acuity in both eyes. This means symptoms are usually experienced in both eyes at the same time. Some common symptoms of bilateral myopia include:

• Blurred vision
• Squinting the eyes to see far-away objects more clearly
• Headaches
• Eye strain

Vision changes with age, so these symptoms can reoccur over time. This is often an indicator that your vision prescription needs to be updated. In some cases, vision may become weaker in one eye over time while the other eye remains the same.

You might be surprised by the notion of overnight vision correction. How could contact lenses possibly correct your vision while you sleep? Well, for starters, these are no ordinary contact lenses – these are Ortho K lenses. They’re designed to gently reshape the surface of your eye and in doing so, can correct many cases of short-sightedness. Once these lenses get to work at night and you remove them when you wake up in the morning, you won’t need to wear glasses or normal contact lenses during the day. Instead, you’ll experience crystal clear, pristine vision and freedom, of course.

Who is a candidate for OVC?
Nearsighted individuals who are too young for LASIK surgery or for some other reason are not good candidates for vision correction surgery. Because it can be discontinued at any time without permanent change to the eye, people of any age can try the procedure, as long as their eyes are healthy.
People who participate in sports, or who work in dusty, dirty environments that can make contact lens wear difficult.

What Lens Can Be Used For Myopia Control?

Orthokeratology (Ortho-K)

Orthokeratology, also known as ortho-k, is a corneal reshaping lens. These durable and rigid contact lenses help control and correct myopia. They gently reshape the cornea overnight, allowing your child to see clearly throughout the day without needing corrective eyewear.

Ortho-k contact lenses flatten the centre of the cornea to change how light bends as it enters the eye, correcting your child’s vision. These lenses are safe and effective—2018 research discovered these contacts can slow myopia progression by 36–56% in children.

MiSight and Abiliti Contact Lenses

MiSight contact lenses and more recently Abiliti contact lenses have a unique design specialized for children with myopia. They’re disposable lenses your child replaces daily, making them easy and safe to use for even younger children. These lenses can help correct and control myopia by creating myopic defocus, a technique to change how the eye focuses light.

The lens centre helps correct your child’s vision, and contains different types of myopia treatment zones to help focus light in front of the retina instead of behind the retina, shifting your child’s focal point of vision and tricking the eye into not growing.

Soft daily myopia control contact lenses can help slow myopia progression by up to 59% in children.

SightGlass

SightGlass is a new way to help control and correct myopia in children. These eyeglasses feature thousands of micro-dots in the lens, helping scatter light and reduce contrast on the retina (D.O.T. technology).  2020 research found these glasses slowed myopia progression in 85% of the children in the study, with myopia progressing less than a dioptre.  This may be the best available lens option for younger age groups (especially <8 years old) and Foresee Eyecare is recognized as an authorized site that specializes in prescribing this lens.

MiyoSmart Glasses

MiyoSmart glasses can help your child see better while slowing myopic progression. These glasses utilize defocus incorporated multiple segments (D.I.M.S.) technology to help images focus in front of the retina instead of behind the retina, known as myopic defocus.

A MiyoSmart lens features a central zone for correcting myopia. Additionally, it has several ring-shaped zones surrounding the lens to slow myopia progression. 2019 research found that the DIMS technology used in MiyoSmart lenses can help slow myopia progression by up to 60% in children over 2 years.

Stellest Lenses

Stellest lenses feature H.A.L.T. technology to help correct and control your child’s myopia. These lenses have tons of tiny lenses (known as lenslets), which help slow down myopia progression. When worn 12 hours a day, Stellest lenses can slow myopia by up to 67%.

Scleral Lenses: Specialty Lenses for Complex Eyes

Scleral lenses are a type of specialty contact lenses that are designed to fit over the entire surface of the sclera, the white part of the eye. They are typically larger than traditional contact lenses and are used to correct a variety of vision problems, especially those that cannot be corrected with standard contact lenses or eyeglasses.

Scleral lenses are often used to treat complex eye conditions such as keratoconus, irregular astigmatism, and severe dry eye syndrome. They can also be used for people who have had corneal transplant surgery or other types of eye surgery that have left their eyes irregularly shaped.

One of the main advantages of scleral lenses is that they provide a more stable and comfortable fit than traditional contact lenses. Because they rest on the sclera rather than the cornea, they can help to reduce irritation and discomfort for people with sensitive eyes. Additionally, the space between the lens and the cornea can be filled with a saline solution, which can help to keep the eye moist and reduce dryness.

However, scleral lenses do require a bit more care and maintenance than traditional contact lenses, and they can be more expensive. They also require a skilled eye care professional to properly fit and adjust them to ensure that they are comfortable and effective for the individual user.

Overall, scleral lenses can be a valuable treatment option for people with complex eye conditions, offering improved vision and comfort compared to other forms of vision correction.