Young people generally do very well with contact lenses.
Your 12-year-old daughter might not share your affinity for fashion eyewear. Or, maybe she wants to ditch the glasses while playing soccer.
Middle school and preteen ages are usually when we start discussing contact lens wear for social and sports uses. I consider age 10 and under a separate category: there can be difficulties handling lenses at this age, yet we have had many younger children do well wearing contact lenses for sports. It comes down to the individual based on the temperament, motivation and maturity of the child. And some children have no interest in getting away from their glasses and trying contact lenses.
There are benefits of contact lenses: for starters, they don’t break, fog up or fall off. They increase the field of view, and if there is a big prescription difference between eyes, contact lenses help the eyes work better together compared to glasses. Typically if a contact lens is lost or damaged, the replacement cost is much less than with glasses.
There are medical risks from contact lens wear, such as inflammation of the eye and cornea, corneal ulcers, solution allergy. While these are rare in younger people, we rely heavily on daily disposables because it decreases these risks. We also make sure patients have a functional pair of glasses and regular visits to monitor eye health.
Sterling Vision West Salem Vision Center
1594 Edgewater St NW STE 190, Salem
503-779-2119 | sterlingvision.com
Brought to you by:
Alton Rossman, OD