Kadrmas Eye Care New England
  • Doctors
    • Eddie Kadrmas, MD
    • Richard Strecker, MD
    • Daniel J. Townsend, MD
    • Aimee Gray, OD
    • Ashley Sousa, OD
  • Patients
    • CV-19 Statement
    • Eye Conditions >
      • Cataracts
      • Common Eye Problems >
        • Allergies
        • Amblyopia
        • Astigmatism
        • Blepharitis
        • Chalazion / Stye
        • Conjunctivitis
        • Corneal Abrasion
        • Floaters & Flashes
        • Hyperopia / Farsightedness
        • Myopia / Nearsightedness
        • Presbyopia
        • Strabismus
      • Corneal Diseases & Disorders >
        • Corneal Ulcers
        • Fuchs’ Dystrophy
        • Herpes Zoster / Shingles
        • Keratitis
        • Keratoconus
        • Pterygium
      • Diabetic Eye Disease
      • Dry Eye Syndrome
      • Eyelid Diseases & Disorders >
        • Dermatochalasis
        • Ectropion
        • Entropion
        • Eyelid Lesion
        • Ptosis
        • Tear Duct Obstruction
        • Tumor
      • Eye Trauma / Injury >
        • Blunt Trauma
        • Chemical Injury
        • Penetrating / Perforating Injury
      • Glaucoma >
        • Open Angle Glaucoma >
          • iStent
        • Narrow Angle Glaucoma
        • Neovascular Glaucoma
        • Inflammatory Glaucoma
      • Macular Diseases & Disorders >
        • Macular Degeneration
        • Macular Hole
        • Macular Pucker
      • Neurological Eye Diseases >
        • Blepharospasm
        • Double Vision
        • Ischemic Optic Neuropathy
        • Stroke / Visual Field Defect
        • Temporal Arteritis
      • Retinal Diseases & Disorders >
        • Retinal Tears & Detachments
        • Retinal Vascular Diseases
      • Uveitis & Iritis
    • Resources >
      • Eye Health & Care Blog
      • Retina Digest
    • Videos >
      • Eye Anatomy
      • Cataract
      • Laser Cataract Surgery
      • Children's Vision
      • Common Eye Problems
      • Corneal Conditions
      • Diabetic Eye Disease
      • Dry Eye Syndrome
      • Glaucoma
      • Laser & Refractive Eye Surgery
      • LASIK Over 45
      • LASIK Under 45
      • Macular Degeneration
      • Plastic Eye Surgery
      • Retinal Conditions
      • Refractive Errors
      • Routine Eye Exams
    • Forms & Policies >
      • New Patient Forms
      • HIPAA Policy
      • Referral Forms
    • Financial Information
  • Services
    • Routine Eye Exams >
      • Children
      • Adults
    • Hearing Therapy
    • Specialized Eye Exams >
      • Dilated Eye Exam / Slit Lamp Examination
      • Fluorescein Angiogram
      • Indocyanine Green Angiogram
      • Nerve Fiber Analysis
      • Optical Coherence Tomography
      • Refraction
      • Tonometry
      • Visual Acuity Testing
      • Visual Field Testing
    • Medical, Injection & Surgical / Laser Eye Care
    • Contact Lenses >
      • Contact Lens Types
      • Contact Lens Care & Safety
    • Refractive Eye Surgery >
      • LASIK Eye Surgery
      • PRK
      • Clear Lens Extraction
      • Implantable Collamer Lenses
    • Oculoplastic Surgery & Cosmetic Procedures >
      • Blepharoplasty
      • BOTOX®
      • Restylane®
  • Locations
    • Plymouth
    • Wareham
    • Mashpee
    • Surgery Centers
  • About
    • News
    • Affiliations
    • Patient Reviews
  • Careers
  • Contact
To Schedule Your Eye Appointment, Please Call 1-508-746-8600

Patient Resources - Eye Health & Care Blog

Contact Lenses for Children: What age to start? | Contact Lens Health Week

8/1/2022

 
Picture
Contact lenses are not just for adults. Kids can also wear contacts as an option to glasses for correcting vision problems. But are contacts right for your kids? If so, at what age can you start? Contact Lens Health Week is from August 22nd to 26th. It is a good time to learn more about contact lenses for children. 

Benefits of contacts for kids

Contact lenses may not be right for every child, but lenses are beneficial for some kids and may have advantages over glasses. Consider some of the benefits below.

Better for sports: Contact lenses can be better to use when playing sports. Glasses can break and even fall off in some cases. It might also be easier for kids to wear protective eyewear for certain sports if they have contacts instead of glasses.

May make a child feel less self-conscious: Every child is different. Some kids may not mind eyeglasses at all. While others may feel self-conscious wearing glasses. Although there is nothing wrong with wearing glasses, contact lenses may help improve a child’s self-perception.

May improve vision better than glasses in some instances: According to the University of Rochester Medical Center, contact lenses may improve the quality of a child’s vision better than glasses in some instances.
​

Risks

Contact lenses are regulated as a medical device by the FDA. Similar to most medical devices, it is important to use them as directed. But lenses can still pose some risks for wearers.

According to research in Pediatrics, about 70,000 children go to the emergency room each year due to injuries from medical devices. About 25% of those injuries are due to contact lenses.

According to the FDA, risks of contacts include the following:
  • Eye infections
  • Corneal abrasion
  • Eye irritation
  • Dry eyes  
​

Tips for getting started 

How do you know what age to start? Each child is different. So, age is not the only factor to consider. Before you get your child started wearing contacts, consider their maturity level. For example, some elementary school-age children may be ready to wear contacts and be responsible for taking care of them, but other children, even older kids, may not be ready for the responsibility.

Once you decide your child is ready for lenses, consider the following tips:

Teach your child proper lens care: Right from the start, teach your child proper lens care. Show your child how to clean, rinse, and store their lenses and contact solution. Make sure your child understands the importance of handwashing and is comfortable putting their lenses in and taking them out of their eye.

Watch for irritation: Take the lenses out at the first sign of a problem. If your child develops any type of eye irritation or signs of an infection, make sure they take their lenses out. Also, if your child develops pink eye, eye allergies, or has red irritated eyes for any reason, do not put contacts in.

Wear lenses only as prescribed: There are different types of lenses that may be an option for your child. Stress the importance of only wearing lenses as prescribed. Make sure your child understands they need to remove their contact lenses before they go to sleep unless they are approved to sleep in. Also, your child should take lenses out before swimming.

If you have questions about whether contact lenses are right for your child, we are happy to help. Also, if you would like to ask whether an appointment with one of our eye doctors would be appropriate at this time, call our office at 508-746-8600. 


Comments are closed.

    EYE HEALTH BLOG


    CLICK HERE to sign up for our eye health / care newsletter and have it delivered automatically to your inbox each month!

    Categories

    All
    AMD
    Astigmatism
    Cataract
    Children's Eye Health
    Color Blindness
    Conjunctivitis
    Contact Lens
    Cornea
    Cosmetic Eye Surgery
    Covid 19
    Diabetic Eye Disease
    Driving
    Dry Eyes
    Eye Allergies
    Eye Cancer
    Eye Exam
    Eye Health & Safety
    Eye Infections
    Eye Strain
    Glaucoma
    Injuries
    Low Vision
    Lupus
    Macula
    Myasthenia Gravis
    Organ Donation
    Retina
    Retinopathy
    Scleritis
    Senior Eye Health
    Sports
    Stroke
    Stye
    Uvea
    Vision Correction
    Vision Loss
    Women's Eye Health

    RSS Feed


    Picture

Kadrmas Eye Care New England

55 Commerce Way, Plymouth, MA 02360
14 Tobey Road, Wareham, MA 02571
133 Falmouth Road (Rt 28), Mashpee, MA 02649
Phone Number:
​1-508-746-8600

Hours:
Monday through Friday - 
8 AM - 4:30 PM 
© 2015-2021 Kadrmas Eye Care New England • All Rights Reserved
KadrmasEyeCare.com Privacy Policy • Disclaimer of Medical Liability
Proudly powered by Weebly
Design by DivTag Templates