Is Your Child Ready for Contact Lenses?

By Dr. Elise Brisco, OD, FAAO, FCOVD

Children can wear contact lenses at any age, even as an infant. When an infant must wear a high prescription, if the power of each eye is very different from the other, or if a congenital cataract has been removed, special contact lenses for infants are used, and are preferred to glasses because contacts provide more natural optics and vision to stimulate development of the eye. Parents learn how to care for the lenses, and to apply and remove the contacts from their child's eyes. Contact lenses for infants are critical for the development of the visual system, and can prevent amblyopia or loss of vision.

Contact lenses are an excellent option for all ages to be used in addition to glasses. Most children, or adults who need vision correction, can wear contact lenses. There are many options for all types of prescriptions including high prescriptions, astigmatism, and bifocal lenses. Disposable lenses: both weekly and daily disposables, make wearing contact lenses healthy and convenient. Since there is little care involved with the latest contact lenses, the criteria for non-infants and older children, is whether they have the manual dexterity to handle the contacts.

Contact lenses have the following benefits for children:

• Contacts can improve a child's self image and self confidence
• Contact lenses also help ensure that a child is wearing their prescription throughout the day since they remain in the eyes
• Contact lenses are cost effective because they usually do not get lost, or scratched
• Contact lenses are also safe and great to wear while playing sports because they give a child natural vision, and a full field of view
• Contact lenses, especially gas permeable lenses, can provide better sight than glasses due to superior optics
• Gas permeable contact lenses can slow down the progression of myopia or nearsightedness by acting as a "retainer" on the eyes
• Contact lenses can be fun for teenagers to change their eye color!

Overall, contact lenses are versatile, safe, and cost-effective for children. If you are interested in wearing contact lenses, we will evaluate your eyes for lens wear, and provide you with the best options. Please let our opticians know during the preliminary testing that you or your child is interested in contact lenses.