shaping contact lenses safe for kids

Custom made contact lenses that slow the progression of myopia or nearsightedness by encouraging the eyeballs of growing children to assume a normal shape can be highly effective, according to researchers in China.

The myopic eyeball is not round like the eyeballs of people with normal vision, and the technique, called orthokeratology or “Ortho K” could be compared to using orthodontic devices that encourage straightening of kids’ crooked teeth.

In the meta analysis, researchers worked with seven studies that included data on the axial lengths of children between the ages of six and 16 with mild to moderate myopia.

While axial length increased as the myopic children got older, adidas neo those who used Ortho K lenses experienced slower growth during a two year period than those who wore traditional glasses or contact lenses, according to the study.

The difference was small just one fourth of a millimetre but even this is significant enough to merit considering the Ortho K method in the interest of treating paediatric myopia, according to the researchers.

Other innovative approaches to slowing the progression of myopia include using contact lenses that correct the peripheral vision.

Myopia has reached epidemic proportions, particularly in Asia, according to the researchers, adidas neo whose study was published in the journal Optometry and adidas tenisky Vision Science, the official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. AFP Relaxnews