Anti-Bullying Week is a campaign that supports a cause dear to many who wear glasses. Whilst celebrities like Pixie Lott are seen wearing "geek chic" glasses as fashion statements whether they need them or not, normal teenagers worry about wearing glasses at school. More and more children are short-sighted - myopia rates have doubled in the last 30 years. Overnight Vision Correction is an alternative to glasses with research indicating it could halt shortsightedness for those who develop it in childhood.
Research has shown that teens feel more confidently about their appearance without glasses and self -esteem at this age is critical to future development. The teen' years are also when pupils participate most actively in sport and glasses are not usually permitted for health and safety reasons. Pupils often have to participate with less than 100% vision affecting their ability to compete successfully in most sports.
However conventional contact lenses have their disadvantages in the sporting arena. They should not been worn while swimming or in the shower and they fall out during contact sports like rugby. Glasses are still needed to see when contact lenses are removed and most people's eyes feel tired after wearing lenses all day and so they switch to glasses to give their eyes a rest.
A new alternative to conventional contact lenses and glasses is Overnight Vision Correction (OVC). This involves wearing a therapeutic contact lens while sleeping, correcting eyesight by gently reshaping the cornea in the area over the pupil. The benefit is natural vision during the day without the need for daytime contact lenses or glasses. OVC therapeutic lenses are also optically corrected which means 24 hr vision - you can see while wearing them, for instance when first awakening and then more importantly when they are removed.
Overnight Vision Correction is a halfway house between conventional vision correction and eye laser surgery - which is not permitted on teenagers as it takes until the age of around 21 for vision to stabilize. It is suitable for all ages with children as young as six benefiting. The earlier the treatment is started the more potential therapeutic effect they have. Recent research indicates that overnight contact lenses may slow or even halt the progression of myopia in children 1.
With Myopia rates almost doubling in the last 30 years2 due to lifestyle changes - the increased use of computers, mobile phones, texting (Teenagers now spend an average of 7hrs in the online world 4), and spending less time outside in natural light3. Myopia is a major issue for children and teens of today.
Michael Davis 14, who has been wearing overnight contact lenses for over a year says. "I think my lenses are amazing because I don't have to wear glasses anymore and I can even last a couple of days without wearing them and still see. I can also play rugby much easier, as well as baseball and tennis"
"There is no greater pleasure than converting a shy inhibited young person into a confident outgoing mature youth just by fitting contact lenses" Shelly Bansall FBDO (Hons) CL FBCLA
