Also called myopia, nearsightedness is a visual problem that occurs when the eyeball is unusually long from front to back. This effects the way the retina receives the light rays that form visual images and as a result causes blurring of distant images. While many cases of childhood myopia can be detected and easily treated with glasses, some children’s myopia continues to progress, the Cleveland Clinic reports. For these children, there are some special procedures designed to halt or reverse myopia.
Corneal Reshaping
Corneal refractive therapy, also called CRT, is a treatment in which your child wears special contact lenses that apply slight pressure to the cornea. These lenses, which are worn overnight, are designed to flatten and temporarily reshape the cornea, All About Vision reports. Although the results from CRT are temporary, data from the Longitudinal Orthokeratology Research in Children study found that corneal reshaping may arrest the progression of myopia in children.
LASIK surgery
LASIK, which stands for Laser in situ keratomileusis, is a laser vision correction surgery most commonly performed on adults. In some severe cases of childhood nearsightedness, however, it appears to be a successful treatment. A study in the British Journal of Opthalmology reports that with proper post-operative care, LASIK treatment is a safe and effective option for children with severe myopia. The journal noted that at the long-term effects of LASIK surgery are not yet known.
Photorefractive Keratectomy
Commonly known as PRK, photorefractive keratectomy is a surgical procedure where a laser ablates some of the corneal tissue of the eye, thus flattening the cornea and correcting nearsightedness. A study published in the Journal of Cataract and Refractive reported that children receiving this procedure had improvements in vision and were better able to perform their daily tasks after surgery. PRK surgery is performed under general anesthesia and appears to have lasting results, according to the study.
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