Coloured Contact Lenses

Contacts lenses and children

There’s no age restriction on contact lenses for kids. In fact, even very young children can wear them and many do for a variety of reasons. How can one decide whether contact lenses for kids make sense? Like any decision, it’s important to consider the benefits against the disadvantages.

Contact lenses for kids make sense for the same reasons they do for adults. They help enhance appearance, they are comfortable to wear and they are a good choice for improving vision. Add to these reasons the facts that fitting a child isn’t an issue and that children have all the same options as adults including daily wear, extended wear, continuous wear and disposable and it’s difficult to argue against contact lenses for kids.

Kids who participate in sports find that wearing contact lenses is much easier than dealing with the hassle involved in wearing eyeglasses. Eyeglasses and sports aren’t always a good match. They break more frequently and replacing children’s eyeglasses isn’t cheap!

Kids can be cruel, and children who wear eyeglasses find that they’re frequently subjected to unnecessary taunting and name-calling. Such behavior can seriously impact a child’s self-esteem and confidence, especially when they’re young and don’t know how to disregard the words being said.

Studies have shown that contact lenses for kids, in particular rigid gas permeable styles, have the added benefit of helping to keep nearsightedness from progressing. 

There is something else to consider before making a final decision, however. Although a child’s age isn’t necessarily a consideration, a parent may wish to consider a child’s maturity level. With the decision to wear contact lenses comes an understanding that the wearer has certain responsibilities that must be upheld. Since no two children mature at the same pace, a parent really is the only person who can make this determination.

It helps to think about the ways in which the child does or does not currently show responsibility. For example, how is the child at caring for pets, or at finishing chores or at completing school assignments?

If a child isn’t yet mature enough to handle the responsibility, the parent then has to determine whether he or she is willing to take responsibility for cleaning, maintenance, insertion and removal of the contact lenses and also for scheduling eye examinations and follow-up visits as necessary.

If a child is mature and is motivated, that child likely will be a good candidate. And since most children take instruction well, especially when someone other than a parent gives it, they generally are very good at wearing and caring for contact lenses as they’ve been instructed by the eye doctor.

Contact lenses for kids do present the same risks as adults have including a higher incidence of eye infection, dryness or abrasion. Some children, even though they may be very motivated, are not good candidates for wearing contact lenses either.

As always when in doubt, talk the decision over with someone who has experience prescribing contact lenses for kids.

How To Wear Contact Lenses

Contact lenses in decades past were hard, uncomfortable and prone to breaking or getting lost. None of that is true today, provided you use them properly.

The first step, obviously, is to get ones that are just right for you, after an exam by your eye care professional. He or she will write you a prescription, taking into account the wear characteristics you want, such as disposable, extended wear and more. Contemporary equipment and experience allow eye doctors to fit everyone with contacts that are individually perfect for them and that fit exactly.

Note that word ‘exactly’. While certain lenses require a break in or adjustment period, they should not be uncomfortable for very long. RGP lenses, for example, are firmer than soft contacts. They will take a few days longer than soft lenses to feel right.

During that period, you’re getting used to something that is new and your eyes are conforming to the lens and vice-versa. Soft lenses should feel comfortable within a day or two at most. You should adjust to any contact lens by the period described by your doctor. Any longer than that and it’s time to take them back.

Before deciding that the lenses are not right for you, though, make sure you’re using them correctly.

Toric lenses for example, used by those who have certain types of astigmatism, can only go in correctly one way. Because they combine multiple shapes to correct the condition, if they are rotated upside down, they won’t fit right, nor correct your vision appropriately. Similar comments apply to bifocals or progressives, which are often designed to be worn only one way.

Further, for most people, contact lenses differ between left and right. Getting them backwards will, it should be obvious, not give you optimal correction. It should be obvious, but it isn’t always. The reason is that your eyes may differ only by a small amount and other things can interfere with optimal vision, such as cloudiness on the lens from improper cleaning.

The solutions here are simple.

Make sure you clean your hands and the lens properly before use. Small contaminants make a big difference when it comes to something as carefully crafted as your contacts. Protein buildup and bacteria buildup are much more likely, much quicker on lenses that aren’t prepared correctly.

Also, make sure you put them in correctly. With eyes that only differ a little, it’s easy to get them backwards and not know it. Some designs simplify the issue by actually imprinting a tiny L and R on the lens. Others rely on you to see that the left and right are correct after they’re inserted, and reverse them if they’re not. Toric lenses make clear which way they are to go – follow that.

Wear according to designed use. That is, if you have daily wear lenses, don’t treat them like extended wear models. Take them out before bed. If you fall asleep with the lenses in, even during the day, use eye drops and allow the eye to get moisturized before removing them. Ironically, closed eyelids during sleep can cause them to dry out, since you produce less tear solution then. Allow your eyes time to adjust.

Some soft lenses can accidentally flip inside out. But even single vision lenses are designed to only be worn one way. Before inserting, ensure they look like a slice of a sphere with no ridges. If there’s a tiny lip, they likely have gotten turned inside out. Firmer lenses, such as RGP models, show this more prominently, but it should be visible on others, too. Yes, it can be hard to see without your contacts in. Have a pair of glasses handy or get used to feeling for the small ridge.

With proper care and use, your lenses should not be irritating. That can lead to eye health problems. If they bother you, consult your eye doctor and ensure that your prescription and practices are both what the doctor ordered.