Can myopia still progress in your 20s?

Yes. About 1 in 3 Australians with myopia progress by half a dioptre or more during their twenties, and it is genuine eye growth, not just a prescription quirk. The first step is measuring axial length — the eye's actual length — to find out whether yours is still changing.

Is adult myopia progression real?

In the Raine Study — the largest Australian data we have — 37.8% of young adults with myopia progressed by 0.50 dioptres or more between ages 20 and 28. Progression in your twenties is not rare and it is not imagined. It is also measurable, which is where the useful answer starts.

Does a stronger prescription mean my eyes are still growing?

Not by itself. A prescription can shift with tiredness, long hours of close work, or simple measurement variation between visits. Real progression means the eye itself has grown slightly longer. Measuring axial length — the front-to-back length of the eye — is how we tell the difference.

Why is my myopia still getting worse at 25?

Because the things that drive myopia don't stop at 18. If your twenties are full of lectures, screens and deadline weeks, you are in the group where progression is most common — that's your life, not a failing. Across a heavy-study decade, the average change is around one dioptre.

When does myopia stop progressing?

Most childhood myopia stabilises in the mid-to-late teens. But stabilising is a curve, not a switch: about 1 in 10 people whose myopia began in childhood are still progressing at 21, and roughly 1 in 25 at 24. And myopia can also start fresh in adulthood — it did for 14% of young adults who weren't short-sighted at 20 in the Raine Study.

Does adult myopia progression actually matter?

Each additional dioptre of myopia is associated with roughly 67% higher prevalence of myopic maculopathy later in life — so dioptres gained in your twenties are not automatically trivial. Here is the honest counterweight: if your myopia began recently and is low, you are very unlikely ever to reach high myopia, and your personal risk stays much lower. International guidance puts it plainly — the case for acting is strongest in adults with higher myopia and demonstrated progression, not in every worried twenty-something with a mild prescription. Which group you're in is not a guess. It's a measurement.

Can anything slow myopia progression in adults?

No myopia-control treatment has ever been tested in a controlled trial in adults. That is an evidence gap, not evidence that nothing works — the trials simply haven't been run. The first one ever mounted, in adults aged 18 to 40, reports around 2028.

What should I do about myopia progression in my 20s?

Start with a measurement, not a treatment. We take a baseline axial-length reading, repeat it after six months, and compare the two in millimetres. You'll know whether your eye has actually changed — not guess from a prescription. Six-monthly axial length is the method Optometry Australia recommends for tracking progression.

Is it normal for my prescription to change at 25?

It's common — about 1 in 3 Australians with myopia progress during their twenties. But a small script change can also be measurement variation rather than real eye growth. An axial-length measurement settles which one you have, in millimetres, before anyone talks about treatment.

Will laser surgery stop my myopia progressing?

No. Laser surgery reshapes the cornea to remove your current prescription — it doesn't stop the eye lengthening, and progression after surgery is documented. The eye-health reasons to keep an eye on progression remain, whichever correction route you choose.

How much progression is normal year to year?

Adults who progress typically change by around 0.1 to 0.2 dioptres a year — much slower than children. That slowness is exactly why one visit's script change can mislead, and why six-monthly axial-length measurement is the reliable yardstick.

My child's myopia is progressing — is this page for me?

This page is about adults. Children's eyes grow faster, and children have treatment options backed by strong clinical trials — start at progressive myopia in children for that pathway.

Alternatives to LASIK · Concord Eyecare, North Strathfield, Sydney

Not ready for laser eye surgery? You still have options.

Maybe it’s the permanence. Maybe it’s your dry eyes. Maybe you’re simply not sure yet. Whatever is giving you pause, there are more options than most people are ever told about — including one that’s reversible.

800+

Ortho-K lenses fitted over 10+ years

Dry-eye clinic

assessment and treatment on site

Concord Eyecare

North Strathfield, Sydney

Compare your options below

What are the alternatives to LASIK?

Four honest routes — and one most adults have never heard of

If you’re not ready for LASIK, you have four realistic paths: updated glasses or daytime contact lenses, overnight Ortho-K lenses that reshape the eye while you sleep, other surgical procedures such as PRK or ICL, or simply waiting — no change is a legitimate choice. Of the glasses-free options, only Ortho-K is non-surgical and reversible.

Most adults weighing up laser surgery know about glasses and contact lenses, and maybe PRK. Very few have heard of orthokeratology — Ortho-K — even though it has been fitted in Australia for decades. That’s the gap this page closes.

We’re Concord Eyecare in North Strathfield — an independent Sydney optometry practice with a dry-eye clinic on site and more than 800 Ortho-K fittings behind us. Laser eye surgery comes in a few forms — LASIK, PRK and the newer SMILE — and the non-surgical options below sit alongside all of them. We don’t do laser surgery ourselves — our job here is simply to lay out your options straight.

How do the options compare?

Side by side, on the things hesitant adults actually ask

Four routes, compared on what matters when you’re deciding. No winner — the right option depends on your prescription, your eyes, and what you want your mornings to look like.

	Glasses & daytime contacts	Ortho-K (overnight lenses)	Laser surgery LASIK · PRK · SMILE	ICL
What it is	Corrective lenses worn through the day	Custom lenses reshape the eye during sleep	A laser permanently reshapes the cornea — LASIK and PRK by removing tissue from the surface, SMILE through a smaller keyhole opening	A lens implanted inside the eye
Permanence	None — change or stop anytime	Temporary — effect fades within days of stopping	Permanent	Long-term; removal is a further procedure
Reversible?	Yes	Yes	No	Partly — the implant can be surgically removed
Daily routine	Lenses or glasses all day	Lenses overnight; nothing on the eye all day	Nothing, once healed	Nothing day-to-day
Dry-eye interaction	Soft lenses can feel dry by day’s end	No lens on the eye during the day; does not treat dry-eye disease	Surgeon assesses your ocular surface first	Surgeon assesses your ocular surface first
Cost pattern	Ongoing frames / lens supply	Package + maintenance — $1,600–$2,200 for the first two years at Concord Eyecare (full pricing breakdown)	Per-eye upfront fee, quoted by the surgeon	Per-eye upfront fee, quoted by the surgeon
Typically suits	Almost everyone	Adults roughly −1.00 to −6.00 with healthy corneas	Candidacy decided by a refractive surgeon	Often higher prescriptions — decided by a refractive surgeon

Suitability for any option comes down to measurement — for Ortho-K that’s your prescription, corneal shape and ocular surface; for LASIK, PRK and ICL it’s a refractive surgeon’s assessment. Surgical fees vary by clinic and are quoted by the surgeon, not estimated here.

What if dry eyes rule out LASIK?

Too dry for LASIK? You still have options

Dry eyes are one of the common reasons laser surgery is deferred or declined. If that’s you, the alternatives matter more, not less: with Ortho-K, no lens sits on your eye during the day. Ortho-K does not treat dry-eye disease — the ocular surface is assessed first, and significant disease is treated before any fitting.

Refractive surgeons check tear function carefully because a dry ocular surface can affect comfort and healing after surgery — which is why “not yet” is a common answer rather than a flat “no”. That caution protects your eyes.

Here’s what we can do under one roof at Concord Eyecare: assess and treat the ocular surface at our dry-eye clinic, and — if your eyes are suitable — fit Ortho-K, so your days are lens-free and your correction happens while you sleep. If your surface needs treatment first, that comes first. Then we re-measure and talk options with real numbers in hand.

How does Ortho-K correct vision without surgery?

It works while you sleep

Ortho-K (orthokeratology) uses custom-made lenses worn while you sleep. They gently and temporarily reshape the front surface of the eye, so most suitable wearers see clearly all day without glasses or contact lenses. You take the lenses out each morning; the correction carries you through the day.

Custom lenses worn during sleep

Removed in the morning

Clear vision all day — no glasses, no lenses

Suitability depends on your prescription (typically −1.00 to −6.00, with custom designs extending further in some cases), your corneal shape, and the health of your ocular surface — all measured before any lens is ordered. Like any contact lens, Ortho-K carries a small risk of eye infection — never rinsing lenses or the case in tap water, and keeping your scheduled reviews, is what keeps it small. The evidence, on our Ortho-K safety page · how Ortho-K works in full.

Is Ortho-K permanent like LASIK?

Permanent suits some people. Reversible suits others

No — Ortho-K is temporary and reversible. The lenses reshape the front surface of the eye overnight; stop wearing them and your vision returns to its previous state within days. LASIK and PRK permanently reshape the cornea, and ICL places a lens inside the eye long-term.

Some people choose surgery exactly because it’s permanent — one procedure, done. Others aren’t ready to change their eyes permanently. Ortho-K suits that second group: wear it for years, or stop at any time and let your eyes return to where they started.

Permanent change

LASIK · PRK · ICL

Reversible

Ortho-K · glasses · contact lenses

Who decides which option is right for me?

Two professionals, two clear roles

As optometrists, we assess and explain the non-surgical options — measuring your prescription, corneal shape and ocular surface to tell you whether glasses, contact lenses or Ortho-K would work for you. Whether you’re a candidate for LASIK, PRK or ICL is a refractive surgeon’s decision, and we refer you when surgery is the right conversation.

We’d rather you chose surgery with clear information than Ortho-K with doubts. For balanced reading on the surgical side, RANZCO — the professional college of Australian ophthalmologists — publishes patient information on refractive surgery.

At Concord Eyecare

Your optometrist assesses suitability for the non-surgical options

By referral

A refractive surgeon assesses you for LASIK, PRK or ICL

Interested in the non-surgical, reversible option?

Everything about Ortho-K for adults, on one page

Ortho-K is the option on this page most adults have never properly explored. Suitability, dry eyes and contact-lens comfort, what nights and mornings actually look like, and transparent pricing — it’s all on one page, written for adults weighing exactly this decision.

Explore Ortho-K for Adults

Quick questions

The things people ask us across the desk

What are the reversible alternatives to laser eye surgery?

Three: updated glasses, daytime contact lenses, and overnight Ortho-K. All correct your vision without permanent change to the eye. Ortho-K is the only one that gives you glasses-free, lens-free daytime vision — the lenses work while you sleep, and the effect reverses within days if you stop.

Can I try Ortho-K first and still have laser surgery later?

Yes. Because Ortho-K is temporary, you can still choose surgery later. If you later choose surgery, your surgeon will ask you to stop lens wear beforehand so the cornea returns to its natural shape and the measurements stabilise. Some adults use Ortho-K exactly this way — as the try-something-first option.

What prescriptions suit Ortho-K?

Ortho-K works best for short-sightedness between roughly −1.00 and −6.00 dioptres, with custom designs extending further in some cases. Suitability also depends on your corneal shape and the health of your ocular surface — all three are measured at the assessment before any lens is ordered.

Is Ortho-K safe for adults?

Ortho-K is a well-established fitting with decades of use in Australia. Like any contact lens it carries a small risk of eye infection, and the risk is in the same range as other overnight lens wear. The biggest thing in your control is water: never rinse the lenses or the case with tap water, and never keep wearing a lens on a sore or red eye. We cover the evidence honestly on our Ortho-K safety page.

Why hasn’t anyone mentioned Ortho-K to me before?

Fitting Ortho-K well takes corneal topography equipment and experience, so many practices simply don’t offer it. At Concord Eyecare we’ve fitted more than 800 Ortho-K lenses over 10+ years, and Dr Mark Joung is a member of the Orthokeratology Society of Oceania.

Reviewed by Dr Mark Joung, B.Optom (Hons) UNSW, ACO Certificate in Ocular Therapeutics · Last clinically reviewed August 2026

Prefer to talk it through with measurements instead of a webpage? Book a free Ortho-K Assessment — 30 minutes, no commitment to lenses — or call 02 8765 9600.

References

Swarbrick HA. Orthokeratology review and update. Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 2006 — mechanism and reversibility of orthokeratology.
RANZCO (Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists) — patient information on refractive surgery.

Book a free 30-minute assessment

Stop guessing. Start measuring.

Bring your questions — and your old prescriptions, if you have them. You'll talk it through with Mark, Nikki or Vivian, and leave knowing exactly what, if anything, to do next. The conversation is free. If measuring makes sense, your axial-length baseline is $45. And nobody here will recommend a treatment before your eyes have been measured.

Find out if my eyes are still changing Free 30-minute assessment · no commitment

Prefer the phone? 02 8765 9600.

Concord Eyecare · 161 Concord Rd, North Strathfield, Sydney · Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese spoken