Slowing Down Childhood Nearsightedness: Is Ortho-K or MiSight Right for Your Child?

A new pair of glasses can bring the classroom board back into focus. If your child needs a stronger prescription each year, we can also discuss ways to slow the changes in their vision. At our Duluth practice, we offer two contact lens options for childhood nearsightedness, also called myopia. Ortho-K works overnight, while MiSight fits into a daytime routine.

Ortho-K for Lens-Free Days

With orthokeratology, or Ortho-K, your child wears custom rigid lenses while sleeping and removes them in the morning. The lenses temporarily reshape the cornea, the clear front surface of the eye. Many children can then see clearly at school and during sports without glasses or daytime contacts.

Ortho-K can also help slow the excessive eye growth that causes myopia to worsen. The daytime correction wears off if your child stops wearing the lenses, so a consistent overnight schedule matters. Since the lenses are reusable, your family will need time each morning to clean and disinfect them as directed.

MiSight for a Fresh Pair Each Morning

MiSight 1 day lenses are soft contacts your child puts in before school. Different zones in each lens bring distant objects into focus and help slow the eye growth associated with myopia. Your child throws each lens away after removing it, so there’s no lens case or cleaning solution to manage. The lenses come out before naps, bedtime, swimming or showering.

MiSight is FDA-approved to slow myopia progression in children who start treatment between ages 8 and 12 and meet specific prescription criteria. We check the amount of nearsightedness and astigmatism, along with your child’s eye health, to see whether MiSight is a suitable option.

Which Routine Fits Your Child?

We measure the shape of your child’s cornea and check their prescription to see which lenses will fit. If both options are suitable, a few questions can help your family decide.

• Does your child swim several afternoons a week? Ortho-K may be appealing because the lenses stay at home during practice.

• Would your child prefer to throw away each pair after use? MiSight may be easier to manage, especially on trips or at sleepovers.

• Can your child take out a lens without your help? A child wearing MiSight at school should know how to remove an uncomfortable lens with clean, dry hands and tell an adult.

Bring any previous glasses prescriptions to your first visit so we can see how quickly your child’s nearsightedness has changed. Once your child starts wearing lenses, we use follow-up visits to check the fit, examine the corneas and track myopia progression.

To find out whether Ortho-K or MiSight fits your child’s eyes and daily routine, call First Class Eye Care in Duluth, GA, at (404) 793-3937 to schedule a myopia management consultation.