Contact lenses can offer several benefits over other forms of vision correction for kids. But a common question many parents have is: "When is my child old enough to wear contact lenses?" Physically, your child's eyes can tolerate contact lenses at a very young age. In fact, some babies are fitted with contact lenses due to eye conditions present at birth. And in a recent study that involved fitting nearsighted children ages 8-11 with one-day disposable contact lenses, 90% had no trouble applying or removing the contacts without assistance from their parents.
The important question to ask yourself is whether your child is mature enough to insert, remove and take care of their contact lenses. How they handle other responsibilities at home will give you a clue. If your child has poor grooming habits and needs frequent reminders to perform everyday chores, they may not be ready for the responsibility of wearing and caring for contact lenses. But if they are conscientious and handle these things well, they may be excellent candidates for contact lens wear, regardless of their age.
Many kids are active in sports. Contact lenses offer several advantages over glasses for these activities. Contacts don't fog up, get streaked with perspiration or get knocked off like glasses can. They also provide better peripheral vision than glasses, which is important for nearly every sport. There are even contact lenses with special tints to help your child see the ball easier. For sports, soft contact lenses are usually the best choice. They are larger and fit closer to the eye than rigid gas permeable (GP) lenses, so there's virtually no chance they will dislodge or get knocked off during competition.
If your young son or daughter is nearsighted, rigid gas permeable (GP) contacts may be a good choice. GP lenses are more durable and often provide sharper vision than soft contacts. A modified technique of fitting gas permeable lenses — called orthokeratology or "ortho-k" — can reverse myopia temporarily. Kids put their ortho-K lenses in at night and wear them while they're sleeping. In the morning, when the lenses are removed, nearsighted kids should be able to see clearly without lenses of any kind. Researchers also are finding that multifocal soft contact lenses may be effective for myopia control. Multifocal contacts are special lenses that have different powers in different zones of the lens.
Contact lenses can do wonders for some children's self-esteem. Many kids don't like the way they look in glasses and become overly self-conscious about their appearance because of them. Wearing contact lenses can often elevate how they feel about themselves and improve their self-confidence. Sometimes, even school performance and participation in social activities improve after kids switch to contact lenses.
If your child chooses to wear contact lenses, they still need an up-to-date pair of eyeglasses. Contact lenses worn on a daily basis should be removed at least an hour before bedtime to allow the eyes to breathe. Also, there will be times when your child may want to wear their glasses instead of contact lenses. And contact lenses should be removed immediately anytime they cause discomfort or eye redness.
Motivation is often the most important factor in determining whether your son or daughter will be a successful contact lens wearer. If you wear contact lenses yourself and love them, that still doesn't mean they are the right choice for your child. Some children like wearing glasses and have no desire to wear contact lenses. Sometimes it's just a matter of timing. Often, a child may feel they don't want contacts, but a year or two later, they do.
Amblyopia, also known as "lazy eye," is a visual development disorder that cannot be corrected with eyeglasses or contact lenses. If left untreated, it can cause legal blindness in the affected eye. About 2% to 3% of the population is amblyopic.
Astigmatism is one of the most common vision problems, but most people don't know what it is. Many people are relieved to learn that astigmatism is not an eye disease. Like nearsightedness and farsightedness, astigmatism is a type of refractive error - a condition related to the shape and size of the eye that causes blurred vision. In addition to blurred vision, uncorrected astigmatism can cause headaches and eyestrain and can make objects at all distances appear distorted.
Blepharitis is inflammation of the eyelids. It's a common disorder and may be associated with a low-grade bacterial infection or a generalized skin condition. Blepharitis occurs in two forms: anterior blepharitis and posterior blepharitis. Anterior blepharitis affects the front of the eyelids, usually near the eyelashes. The two most common causes of anterior blepharitis are bacteria and a skin disorder called seborrheic dermatitis, which causes itchy, flaky red skin. Posterior blepharitis affects the inner surface of the eyelid that comes in contact with the eye. It is usually caused by problems with the oil (meibomian) glands in the lid margin. Posterior blepharitis is more common than the anterior variety, and often affects people who have rosacea.
A cataract is a clouding of the eye's natural lens, which lies behind the iris and the pupil. The lens works much like a camera lens, focusing light onto the retina at the back of the eye. The lens also adjusts the eye's focus, letting us see things clearly both up close and far away. The lens is made of mostly water and protein. The protein is arranged in a precise way that keeps the lens clear and allows light to pass through it. But as we age, some of the protein may clump together and start to cloud a small area of the lens. This is a cataract, and over time, it may grow larger and cloud more of the lens, making it harder to see.
Diabetic Retinopathy
If you have diabetes, you probably know that your body can't use or store sugar properly. When your blood sugar gets too high, it can damage the blood vessels in your eyes. This damage may lead to diabetic retinopathy. In fact, the longer someone has diabetes, the more likely they are to have retinopathy (damage to the retina) from the disease. In its advanced stages, diabetes may lead to new blood vessel growth over the retina. The new blood vessels can break and cause scar tissue to develop, which can pull the retina away from the back of the eye. This is known as retinal detachment, and it can lead to blindness if untreated. In addition, abnormal blood vessels can grow on the iris, which can lead to glaucoma. People with diabetes are 25 times more likely to lose vision than those who are not diabetic, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. In fact, between 12,000 and 24,000 new cases of blindness related to diabetic retinopathy occur in the United States each year, the CDC says.
Dry Eye Syndrome
Dry eye syndrome (DES or dry eye) is a chronic lack of sufficient lubrication and moisture on the surface of the eye. Its consequences range from minor irritation to the inability to wear contact lenses and an increased risk of corneal inflammation and eye infections.
Eye Allergies
Similar to processes that occur with other types of allergic responses, the eye may overreact to a substance perceived as harmful even though it may not be. For example, dust that is harmless to most people can cause excessive tear production and mucus in eyes of overly sensitive, allergic individuals. Also, eye allergies are often hereditary.
Floaters and Spots
Have you ever seen small specks or debris that look like pieces of lint floating in your field of view? These are called "floaters," and they are usually normal and harmless. They usually can be seen most easily when you look at a plain background, like a blank wall or blue sky. Floaters are actually tiny clumps of gel or cells inside the vitreous - the clear, jelly-like fluid that fills the inside of your eye. Floaters may look like specks, strands, webs or other shapes. Actually, what you are seeing are the shadows of floaters cast on the retina, the light-sensitive inner lining of the back of the eye.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma refers to a category of eye disorders often associated with a dangerous buildup of internal eye pressure (intraocular pressure or IOP), which can damage the eye's optic nerve - the structure that transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma typically affects your peripheral vision first. This is why it is such a sneaky disease: You can lose a great deal of your vision from glaucoma before you are aware anything is happening. If uncontrolled or left untreated, glaucoma can eventually lead to blindness. Glaucoma is currently the second leading cause of blindness in the United States, with an estimated 2.5 million Americans affected by the disease. Due to the aging of the U.S. population, it's expected that more than 3 million Americans will have glaucoma by 2020.
Hyperopia
Hyperopia, or farsightedness, is a common vision problem affecting about 25% of the U.S. population. People with hyperopia can usually see distant objects well, but have difficulty seeing objects that are up close.
Keratoconus
Keratoconus is a progressive eye disease in which the normally round cornea thins and begins to bulge into a cone-like shape. This cone shape deflects light as it enters the eye on its way to the light-sensitive retina, causing distorted vision. Keratoconus can occur in one or both eyes. Keratoconus is relatively rare. Most studies indicate it occurs in 0.15% to 0.6% of the general U.S. population. The onset of the disease usually occurs in people in their teens or early twenties.
Macular Degeneration
Macular degeneration (also called AMD, ARMD, or age-related macular degeneration) is an age-related condition in which the most sensitive part of the retina, called the macula, starts to break down and lose its ability to create clear visual images. The macula is responsible for central vision - the part of our sight we use to read, drive and recognize faces. So although a person's peripheral vision is unaffected by AMD, the most important aspect of vision is lost. AMD is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in Americans ages 65 and older. And because older people represent an increasingly larger percentage of the general population, vision loss associated with macular degeneration is a growing problem. It's estimated that more than 1.75 million U.S. residents currently have significant vision loss from AMD, and that number is expected to grow to almost 3 million by 2020.
Myopia
Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a very common vision problem. It's estimated that up to one-third of Americans are nearsighted. Nearsighted people have difficulty reading road signs and seeing distant objects clearly, but can see well for up-close tasks such as reading or sewing.
Pingueculae and Pterygia
Pingueculae (singular form = pinguecula) are yellowish, slightly raised lesions that form on the surface tissue of the white part of your eye (sclera), close to the edge of the cornea. They are typically found in the open space between your eyelids, which also happens to be the area exposed to the sun. While pingueculae are more common in middle-aged or older people who spend significant amounts of time in the sun, they can also be found in younger people and even children - especially those who spend a lot of time in the sun without protection such as sunglasses or hats.
Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis)
Technically, pink eye is the acute, contagious form of conjunctivitis - inflammation of the clear mucous membrane that lines the inner surface of the eyelids and overlies the white front surface of the eye, or sclera. Bacterial or viral infection causes the contagious form of conjunctivitis. However, the term "pink eye" is often used to refer to any or all types of conjunctivitis, not just its acute, contagious form.
Retinal Detachment
A retinal detachment is a serious and sight-threatening event, occurring when the retina - the light-sensitive inner lining of the back of the eye - becomes separated from its underlying supportive tissue. The retina cannot function when it detaches, and unless it is reattached soon, permanent vision loss may result.
Stye
A stye (or hordeolum) develops when an eyelid gland at the base of an eyelash becomes infected. Resembling a pimple on the eyelid, a stye can grow on the inside or outside of the lid. Styes are not harmful to vision, and they can occur at any age.
Uveitis
Uveitis is inflammation of the eye's uvea, an area that consists of the iris, the ciliary body and the choroid. The iris is the colored part of the eye that surrounds the pupil. The ciliary body is located behind the iris and produces the fluid that fills the anterior part of the eye. The choroid is the layer of tiny blood vessels in the back of the eye that nourishes the light- sensitive retina. Uveitis is classified by which part of the uvea it affects: Anterior uveitis refers to inflammation of the iris alone (called iritis) or the iris and ciliary body. Anterior uveitis is the most common form. Intermediate uveitis refers to inflammation of the ciliary body. Posterior uveitis is inflammation of the choroid. Diffuse uveitis is inflammation in all areas of the uvea. Many cases of uveitis are chronic, and they can produce numerous possible complications that can result in vision loss, including cataracts, glaucoma and retinal detachment.