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Are contact lenses safe for children?

Posted by techmatters 04/02/2014 0 Comment(s)

There are many reasons why you might be considering contact lenses for your son or daughter and it’s understandable that you may have some concerns. Ultimately it comes down to your child’s maturity and their ability to handle the responsibility of contact lenses.

What about age?

From a physical perspective, a child’s eyes can tolerate contact lenses from a very young age. Some infants are even fitted with contact lenses due to certain eye conditions that are present at birth.

To see if your child is ready to wear contact lenses, consider how he or she handles other responsibilities. Take a look at personal grooming habits, the tidiness of their bedroom and bathroom, completion of schoolwork and household chores.

If your child needs constant reminding about cleaning and hygiene then they may not be ready to wear and care for contact lenses.

But, if they handle their responsibilities well, they may be the perfect candidate for contact lenses. Young children often follow instructions about contact lens wear and care better than teenagers and young adults, resulting in fewer problems with over wearing their contacts, poor cleaning of contacts and using the wrong solutions.

Playing sport

If your child plays sport, contact lenses offer a number of advantages over glasses.

Most optometrists will fit your children’s glasses with impact resistant polycarbonate lenses. Whilst these lenses are extremely durable, there is still a chance that they may break during contact sports, which could cause an eye injury. In addition, lenses may fog up whilst they are playing sport, affecting vision and performance.

Wearing contact lenses will eliminate these problems. Your child will have better peripheral vision and unlike glasses, contact lenses remain stable on your child’s eyes when they are running. With the advancements in contact lens technology, many contact lenses out on the market now also provide better vision than spectacles.

Self esteem

Children are very sensitive about their appearance and many children are self-conscious about wearing glasses. Switching from glasses to contact lenses could improve your child’s self esteem and confidence. Quite often parents will see an improvement in schoolwork, social skills and general attitude.

Remember, it doesn’t have to be a permanent decision. If your child doesn’t adapt well, they can always return to wearing glasses.

Your optometrist will discuss the transition with your child, provide training and conduct regular check ups to ensure that contact lenses are a suitable choice. If you or your child is already wearing contact lenses, check out our article on 7 Things Every Contact Lens Wearer Should Know