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Wearing bifocal glasses instead of single lenses at a young age could be a successful form of myopia (short-sightedness) control in children, research suggests.
Researchers from Hong Kong Polytechnic University studied 135 Chinese Canadian children and found that the disease progressed slower in those that wore bifocal glasses.
The children, whose average age was ten, were split into three groups wearing single-vision lenses, standard bifocal lenses and prismatic bifocal lenses – designed to improve near vision by allowing the eyes to work together.
Those wearing the prismatic glasses had the best results, with a 58 per cent difference in the rate of progression compared to those wearing single-vision lenses, with regular bifocals resulting in a 38 per cent difference for the better.
Desmond Cheng, the lead author of the paper, told the Los Angeles Times in an email: "The modest benefit should be weighed against factors such as the increased cost of the lenses, poor cosmetic appearance and attitude of the parent and child if bifocal spectacles are to be prescribed for the purpose of controlling myopia."
Children can often be bullied for wearing glasses and those that play sport can find that spectacles get in the way and can be a danger in contact sports.
Orthokeratology contact lenses are therefore a great way to help with
myopia control in children without the hassle of glasses.
Orthok contact lenses are worn overnight and gently reshape the eye's cornea while a child is asleep.
The
corrective contact lenses can be taken out during the day resulting in
natural vision without the need for children to wear glasses or conventional contact lenses.
By reshaping the cornea,
orthok night time contact lenses help stop the eye from working as hard and act as a form of
myopia control for children.
Children's vision: Is your child suitable for i-GO Contact Lenses?
By Nick Howard
