When a child is diagnosed with visual impairment, many parents wonder if he can wear contact lenses and where to pick them up. This question is often asked at an appointment with a pediatric ophthalmologist at the Clinic for Laser Eye Microsurgery at Maerchak . Often the initiative comes from children who do not want to wear glasses.

From a physiological point of view, the child’s eye easily gets used to the lenses, if they are chosen correctly – taking into account the structure of the eye and the type of disorder. There are even special rigid lenses for newborns that help treat congenital cataracts.

The only difficulty that is associated with the use of children’s lenses is caring for them. Change them in time without a reminder from adults, disinfect, use a special solution, do not get into your eyes with dirty hands – only a responsible child can handle such a list of additional worries.

Advantages

• Vision improvement. Contact lenses, especially rigid ones, provide better image clarity than glasses. In addition, they do not limit peripheral vision.
• Convenience and safety. In sports where speed, convenience and safety are important, contact lenses are indispensable. They allow you to see better, do not fall off like glasses while running, do not fog up, give a wide view – all this improves the reaction of the little player and his athletic performance. In addition, glasses are more dangerous: if they break, the child may be injured by fragments of glass or frames.
• Increasing self-esteem. Even today, with a variety of frames and thin glasses on the market, teenagers are still embarrassed to wear glasses. Taking them off, boys and girls feel more confident and attractive.
• Myopia control. Rigid lenses and multifocal soft ones restrain the development of myopia, and orthokeratological ones reprogram the cornea of the eye during sleep, and during the day a person sees clearly without any optical correction.

Risks

Despite the possibilities that contact lenses give to children, this means of vision correction is not suitable for everyone.

Contact lenses can contribute to the development of infection and, as a result, damage to the cornea, if the child is irresponsible about the rules for wearing them. Even adults forget to remove lenses before going to bed, they neglect disinfection. Usually, parents themselves can assess whether their child will be able to follow all the recommendations of an ophthalmologist.

Selection of contact lenses for children

Our doctors advise choosing one-day products for children – they do not require such care, which means they reduce the risk of infection.

Before making a decision, consult with a competent ophthalmologist. With any questions, you can contact our Clinic. Optometrists and ophthalmologists will talk in detail about the advantages and disadvantages of each type of optical correction, conduct vision diagnostics and, based on it, select the best option for your child.