Are OK glasses, the “magic weapon” for myopia prevention and control, OK glasses OK or not?

Author: Jin Xin, Director of the Shouyang Myopia, Strabismus and Amblyopia Prevention and Control Research Institute, Huainan City

Reviewer: Tang Qin, Director of the Science Popularization Department of the Chinese Medical Association

gossip

Parents now attach great importance to helping their children prevent myopia. Some parents believe that "XXX myopia prevention and control artifact" must have better new technology because it is newly released. Some parents believe that since prevention and control methods such as OK glasses work for other people's children, they must work for their own children. Some parents also believe that myopia prevention and control products are "IQ taxes".

Analysis

Let me first say the conclusion: myopia is currently incurable, and there are only a few recognized effective methods of myopia prevention and control. They are not "IQ taxes", but they all require professionals to understand the child's specific situation, and only after detailed examination and communication can they decide which ones are most suitable for the child.

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At the end of the holiday and the beginning of a new semester, parents usually take their children to check their eyesight to ensure that their children can see the blackboard clearly after school starts. However, they find that their children have become nearsighted or the problem has worsened. Parents begin to feel anxious about this. For children, an eye examination is like unfinished holiday homework, which is another major crisis for children before school starts.

So why does the start of the school year become a “peak period for myopia”?

This is mainly because children's eye habits and daily routines change during the holidays, such as long periods of use of electronic devices and low outdoor temperatures in winter, which means that children have relatively less time for outdoor activities. In addition, parents are accustomed to conducting eye examinations for their children before school starts, which can lead to more myopia problems. These factors together make the start of school a high-incidence period for myopia.

In order to deal with the risk of myopia in their children, parents have racked their brains, and many products have emerged due to parents' anxiety, but do they work? Let's talk about it below.

Myopia prevention and control tools: a real helper or just a waste of money?

First of all, we must make one point clear. Under current medical conditions, myopia is irreversible because the occurrence and development of myopia usually involves changes in the structure of the eyeball, especially the growth of the eye axis. So when parents find that their children are myopic, they should not hope to use any means to reduce the degree of their children's myopia. Instead, they should actively help their children choose appropriate prevention and control plans to slow down the development of myopia as much as possible.

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However, myopia prevention and control requires a high level of professionalism. Even for formal prevention and control methods, and even though there are a lot of content sharing about the effects and experiences online, parents should make choices based on their children's specific circumstances under the guidance of professionals. Never act on your own, otherwise you may spend money and get tired, but your myopia may still get worse... Let's talk about them one by one below.

Orthokeratology lenses

Also known as OK glasses, many parents should have heard of this type of product. Its effect is relatively good and can delay the progression of myopia by 35% to 60%. The advantages are very obvious. Under suitable conditions, children only need to wear them at night and do not need to wear any glasses during the day, which will not affect children's daily activities.

However, due to its high price and the fact that the wearing operation is mainly done by adults, it also has certain requirements on the user's own eye health, age, and light range. Improper wearing may also lead to the risk of complications , so comprehensive consideration is also needed for fitting.

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Parents often read relevant introductions and videos and think they are reliable, or hear from friends that their children have good results after using them, so they want to buy them for their children. However, the results are not necessarily good, and it is common to see that some people use OK lenses but don't stick with them.

For example, the child's eye condition does not allow it, the child does not want to wear it at all, the child does not cooperate during the fitting, etc. For many families, wearing OK glasses every day is like a battle. Later, parents get tired and give up. But a pair of lenses plus a care kit costs less than 10,000 yuan. They are all customized and cannot be used by others, so it is a waste. So the product is good, but fitting should not only consider the child's condition, but also the child's willingness to wear it.

Specially designed frame glasses

There are many types of specially designed frame glasses, including progressive multifocal lenses, bifocal lenses, bifocal prisms, peripheral defocus design lenses, microlens design lenses, point diffusion technology lenses, etc.

Judging from the current data, lenses designed with microlens design and lenses designed with point diffusion technology have relatively good myopia prevention and control effects , delaying the progression of myopia by 55% to 74% respectively. They are also suitable for a wide age range of frame glasses, a wide range of light adaptation, and have no strict contraindications. They are more convenient to fit and replace than contact lenses, and there is no risk of eye infection. Because the market competition is more mature, the overall cost-effectiveness is also higher, so they are more easily accepted by parents and children.

In addition to the above two types of lenses, there are some other types of lenses that may also have good prevention and control effects and are also price-competent, but these products are suitable for a relatively narrow population and have higher requirements for fitting technology and experience, so they are not the first choice for parents. Parents cannot insist on choosing lenses for their own children just because they see other children wearing them effectively. They should still listen to the inspection and advice of professionals.

Multifocal contact lenses:

The most common lenses on the market are multifocal soft lenses, which can delay the growth of the eye axis by 25% to 50% . Compared with orthokeratology lenses that require children to be fitted at the age of 8, multifocal soft lenses have a wider range of applications and a larger degree range. Their daily-wear disposable products can also reduce complications and have very good safety.

However, also because they are corneal contact lenses, they have relatively high requirements for eye health, the cost of use is also high, and it is not very convenient to wear them during the day in many situations, such as when children take a nap or go swimming in the summer, they all need to take off the lenses.

Low concentration atropine eye drops

Many parents have heard that there is a type of eye drops that can slow the progression of myopia, so they look for it everywhere as if they have found a life-saving straw. Some parents even look for so-called mixing plans on the Internet and try to mix them themselves. Not to mention whether the ones they mix are effective, just the safety is enough to make people sweat.

But as its name suggests, this is an eye drop, so it is not something that can be used casually. Moreover, most of these eye drops are currently in-hospital preparations, not formal registered drugs, so even if it has a certain preventive effect, it is not recommended for parents to buy and use it on their own.

The effectiveness of this eye drops also varies to a certain extent, and it is not recommended for use in the prevention and control of myopia. Even for children who already have myopia, it is only an auxiliary measure, which means that children still need to wear other corrective lenses for daily correction. Therefore, parents should look at this drug more rationally. Although it can play a certain auxiliary role, please be sure to use it under the guidance of a doctor.

I would like to remind everyone again that there are many products on the market that claim to have the effect of preventing and controlling myopia. However, according to relevant literature and expert consensus recommendations, the types mentioned above are relatively safe and effective (but they must also be used under the guidance of an ophthalmic professional). If someone sells you products not mentioned above under the banner of preventing and controlling myopia, please be vigilant and ask a doctor first to avoid being deceived and delaying your child.

These products can only be used as auxiliary

If someone tells you that the following products can help children reduce eye fatigue to a certain extent, then he is right and you can buy them for your children as needed. But if someone says that these products can prevent and treat myopia and sells them to you with a zero added to the price, then this is a lie. Let's talk about this.

1) Eye protection lamp

Although its name contains the word "eye protection", in fact, the country currently has no special classification and standards for eye protection lamps, and it still belongs to a desktop lamp that meets the national standard. It is true that a good light source is a guarantee for children's night learning, but if it is defined as preventing and controlling myopia just because it reduces harm, then it is a bit far-fetched. Such propaganda is easy to mislead some parents. Many parents have brought the table lamps they bought to consult whether they can prevent myopia. By the way, it is recommended to turn on the house lights and table lamps at the same time when children do their homework, which will help relieve children's eye fatigue.

2) Hot and cold eye patches and eye masks

Generally, they are divided into cold compress eye patches and hot compress eye patches, or hot and cold dual-purpose eye masks, etc. They relax the eyes by means of cold and hot compresses. To be honest, they are indeed quite comfortable, but there is no evidence that related products have the effect of preventing and controlling myopia.

3) Eye massager

This type of product generally has massage, vibration, hot compress and other functions. After using it, people will feel that their eyes are relaxed, which feels really good, but in fact it has little effect on myopia prevention and control. And for people with higher degrees and longer eye axes, it is best to consult a doctor first, because massage, vibration, airbag compression and other techniques may have certain risks for this group of people.

4) Eye training device

Some products improve eye focus and accommodation through visual stimulation, contrast adjustment, near and far movement of sight marks, and dynamic visual tracking. For people with visual problems, this type of training can play a certain role, but there is no evidence that such products can prevent the development of myopia. Even if they are used to improve visual function, they need to be used under the inspection and guidance of professionals.

In fact, professional examination and fitting are essential to prevent and control the development of myopia in children. However, in life, if parents and children pay more attention and develop good eye habits, there is a good chance to save money on myopia and avoid the trouble of glasses . Specifically, you can do the following:

1. Spend at least 2 hours of outdoor activities every day to reduce the risk of myopia;

2. Maintain correct eye posture and single eye use duration to reduce eye stress;

3. Eat a balanced diet and reduce sugar intake

4. Perform an optometric examination every 3-6 months to monitor changes in visual acuity and monitor changes in axial length every 6 months.

in conclusion

References:

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Planning and production

Author: Jin Xin, Director of the Shouyang Myopia, Strabismus and Amblyopia Prevention and Control Research Institute, Huainan City

Reviewer: Tang Qin, Director and Researcher of the Science Popularization Department of the Chinese Medical Association

Editor: Ding Zong

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