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Located on Route 9 North in Old Bridge, NJ

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Home » Orthokeratology: Vision Improvement Without Surgery in Old Bridge, NJ » Orthokeratology (Ortho-K) for Children » Myopia Control – Why is my child becoming more nearsighted?

Myopia Control – Why is my child becoming more nearsighted?

There is usually a reason for someone to become nearsighted. Many eye doctors simply increase the eyeglass prescription as the individual becomes more nearsighted to keep up with the progression.

As the saying goes, where there is smoke, there is fire.
The nearsightedness is like "smoke".
The reason for the progression is the "fire".
The nearsightedness is a symptom of an underlying issue.
Address the underlying issue, and you have solved the problem.
The "fire" is usually due to a visual system that is working in a less-than-optimal way.
Some reasons include
When your Old Bridge eye doctor understands the underlying reasons for myopia (nearsightedness), that doctor can then prevent it from beginning or from progressing.

 

Can Vision Therapy eliminate the need for glasses?

When a child or adult begins to become nearsighted then Vision Therapy for Myopia Control can be done to prevent the progression.  It addresses how the visual system functions.  At times it can reverse the nearsightedness or prevent it from progressing.

The common approach for most doctors is to simply increase the eyeglass power as the child becomes more nearsighted.  The eyeglasses merely compensate, but don't correct the progression.  The nearsightedness becomes more embedded and part of the individual. The individuals continues to see their visual system in the same way, and thus the eyeglass power continues to increase.

Another option is to learn how to use the visual system more effectively.  In the same way we can learn to use our fingers more effectively in order to play the piano, or ride a bicycle, or play tennis, we can learn how to use the focusing and the eye-teaming parts of the visual system so they don't over-work and the individual does NOT continue to become progressively more nearsighted.

Orthokeratology, also called Ortho-K, is the use of  special molding lenses worn at night to prevent the progression of nearsightedness.  you can learn more about this non-surgical, FDA approved procedure elsewhere in our website.  Orthokeratolgy is effective for both children and for adults.  Orthokeratology can be combined with Vision Therapy in order to obtain the best possible result.