OrthoK in Heckmondwike — SleepSight Overnight Contact Lenses for Clear Daytime Vision

Independent specialist care at our Heckmondwike practice — 14 Market Street, WF16 0JU. Book online or call 01924 403617.

📞 Call 01924 403617 — book a consultation

SleepSight OrthoK at Armitage Opticians, Heckmondwike

OrthoK (short for orthokeratology) is the technique of wearing a specialist rigid contact lens overnight while you sleep. The lens gently reshapes the surface of your cornea, and when you remove it in the morning your vision is corrected for the whole day — no glasses, no daytime contacts. By the next bedtime your cornea has returned to its original shape, so you simply wear the lens again that night. It sounds futuristic; it has actually been in clinical use for over 20 years. We fit it under our SleepSight programme at our Heckmondwike practice for two distinct groups: children whose myopia is progressing, and adults who want lens-free daytime vision.

How OrthoK works

The OrthoK lens sits on the front surface of your eye while you sleep. Its shape is the inverse of the corneal change you need — for example, if you are short-sighted (myopic), the lens flattens the central cornea very slightly during the night. When you wake and remove the lens, the cornea retains that flattened shape long enough to give you corrected vision through the day, gradually returning to its original shape over 12-16 hours. You insert the lens again that night and the cycle repeats. The corneal change is fully reversible — if you stop wearing the lens, your prescription returns to its baseline within a few days.

OrthoK lenses are made of a high-oxygen-permeable rigid gas-permeable material (modern designs let through enough oxygen for safe overnight wear). The lens is custom-designed to your individual corneal shape using topography (a contour map of your cornea). Lead time for the custom lens is typically 2-3 weeks from your fitting appointment.

OrthoK for children — myopia control

Beyond the cosmetic benefit of glasses-free daytime vision, OrthoK has been shown in multiple peer-reviewed studies to slow the progression of childhood myopia by approximately 30-50%. The mechanism is not fully understood, but the leading theory is that the lens reduces the peripheral defocus signal that drives myopic eye elongation. We typically recommend OrthoK for myopia control in children aged 8-15 with a prescription progressing more than -0.50 dioptres per year. It is one of three main options in our MyoShield programme, alongside MiSight 1-day soft lenses and low-dose atropine eyedrops. Many parents prefer OrthoK specifically because the child wears nothing during the day — important for sport, school PE, and self-consciousness about glasses.

OrthoK for adults — lens-free daytime vision

For adults, the appeal is the freedom: no glasses, no daytime contacts, no concerns about lens dryness during long screen days, no fogging in the kitchen or coming in from the cold, no removing lenses to swim. Adults who choose OrthoK are typically: sports enthusiasts (rugby, cricket, swimming, motorsport), parents who do not want to bother with daytime lenses, contact-lens wearers with dry eye who find soft lenses uncomfortable by midday, professionals who present or speak publicly and do not want to wear glasses. OrthoK works best for adult prescriptions up to about -5.00 dioptres of short-sightedness; above that, a small residual prescription may remain that you correct with glasses or contacts for fine work only.

The fitting process

OrthoK fitting takes longer than soft contact lens fitting because each lens is custom-made. Initial consultation (1 hour): we measure your prescription, perform corneal topography (a 30-second scan), assess your tear film, and confirm OrthoK is right for you. We order the first pair of lenses. 2-3 weeks later you return for the fitting appointment (1 hour), where we insert the lenses, check the fit on the cornea, and teach you to insert and remove them yourself. You wear the lenses overnight at home that first night with a phone follow-up the next morning. Two follow-up appointments at week 1 and week 4 to confirm everything is settled. Total time investment: about 4 weeks from first appointment to fully-settled vision.

Pricing

SleepSight OrthoK programme: £950/year for adults, £750/year for children (NHS-eligible families may have part of the child price covered — we will check at the consultation). This includes all fitting appointments, both lenses, lens cleaning solutions for the year, all aftercare appointments, replacement lenses if you lose one, and the annual corneal topography review. There is no separate “fitting fee” plus subscription as with soft lenses — OrthoK is a flat annual programme. Initial consultation to confirm suitability: free.

Frequently asked questions

Is OrthoK safe?

Yes. The infection risk profile is comparable to (or slightly better than) extended-wear soft contact lenses. The lenses are made from highly oxygen-permeable material designed for overnight use. Cleaning the lenses properly is important — we go through that in detail at the fitting.

Will I see immediately after the first night?

Most patients see clearly enough to drive by day 2-3 of overnight wear; full correction typically takes 1-2 weeks. We give you backup glasses for the first few days if you need to drive or work before the correction has fully developed.

What if I stop wearing the lenses?

Your prescription returns to its baseline within a few days. OrthoK is fully reversible. Stopping is a normal option — for example, some patients wear OrthoK in summer for swimming holidays and switch to glasses or daily contact lenses in winter.

Does my child need to be able to insert lenses themselves?

For children under 11, a parent typically does the insertion and removal at first. By around age 10-12, most children take over with supervision. The lens stays in for the whole night so the insertion routine is once-daily, not multiple times.

Visit us at our Heckmondwike practice

Armitage Opticians, 14 Market Street, Heckmondwike, WF16 0JU. We see patients from Heckmondwike, Cleckheaton, Liversedge, Mirfield, Batley, Dewsbury, Gomersal, Drighlington, Birkenshaw, and across the Spen Valley. Free street parking on Market Street and surrounding side streets.

📞 Call 01924 403617 — book a consultation