One patient's myopia management journey

Zara became Cameron Optometry’s 50th myopia management patient in early 2019. Referred from another optometrist, she was ten years old and already had a prescription of -4 which means she was reliant on her spectacles all the time. After Gillian Bruce met with her, examined her eyes and discussed her myopia management options, she decided to try out contact lenses.

Zara wearing her new Ortho-K lenses

Initially Zara started with MiSight daily contact lenses, a popular daily disposable contact lens option for myopia management patients. However, after quickly mastering how to handle soft lenses and with the confidence she had built in wearing contact lenses, she decided to switch to orthokeratology lenses. These lenses are only worn overnight, gently reshaping the eyeball while the patient sleeps. They are especially popular with sports enthusiasts because they aren’t worn by day and as an avid diver, this made them the perfect choice for Zara.

For Zara the benefits of her lenses go beyond slowing the progression of her myopia. Prior to wearing her overnight lenses, she would have to compete without her glasses, meaning she couldn’t see the scoreboard, the crowd, her parents supporting her or her coach. Now, an added benefit of her ortho-k lenses are that, her vision is perfect by day, without her lenses, so she can now see her mum cheering her on, her coach signalling to her and her high scores on the board.

The hope is that by wearing these lenses over the coming years, by the time Zara reaches adulthood, her prescription will not have progressed at the same pace. So where you would expect her prescription to be high by the time she stops growing, the hope is that it will instead remain in the medium parameters. Not only does this mean that her vision will be far better than it would have been if left with her wearing glasses, her chances of developing serious eye conditions such as retinal detachment in later life, are significantly reduced.

Her mum Lynn said, “I would encourage anyone who is considering giving OrthoK lenses a try to do it. The results Zara has had with them have been way better than I ever thought and have changed her lifestyle.”

For further information visit our Myopia Management page.