As eye doctors, we are often asked what causes nearsightedness, and the usual answer is that we believe nearsightedness is a combination of genetics and environmental influences. In the last thirty years our society has become much more near centric. People spend hours glued to their computer monitors at work and home. Kids spend more time now than ever before with computer games, hand-held games, etc.
Finding ways to slow or halt the progression of myopia has been a longstanding subject of study in eyecare. The process of using special contact lenses to reshape the front part of a patient’s eye to prevent the progression of nearsightedness and to allow the patient to see without glasses is called orthokeratology. For more information on preventing the progression of nearsightedness see the section on Myopia Prevention /Progresssion.