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Are Contact Lenses Safe For Young Children?

Here’s a question we often get at our practice: Is my child too young for contact lenses?’ This is an important question, and the answer may surprise you.

For children with myopia (nearsightedness), contact lenses can be a convenient method of vision correction. It allows kids to go about their day without having to worry about breaking or misplacing their glasses, and enables them to freely participate in sports and other physical activities.

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Some children and young teens may ask their parents for contact lenses because they feel self-conscious wearing glasses. Contact lenses may even provide children with the confidence boost they need to come out of their shell. Moreover, these days, it is very popular for children to wear single-use one-day disposable soft contacts, since there is no cleaning or maintenance involved.

Some parents may deny their child’s request for contacts due to concerns about eye health and safety. There’s no reason to worry: contact lenses are just as safe for children as they are for anyone else.

Vani Vision Eye Clinic and Eye exam, contact lenses, myopia in Atlanta, Georgia

Many eye diseases can be quickly and easily diagnosed during a comprehensive eye exam. If you were diagnosed with an eye disease, such as Cataracts, Glaucoma, Macular degeneration, Diabetic retinopathy, or Dry eye, you may be overwhelmed by the diagnosis and confused about what happens next. Will you need medications or surgery – now or in the future? Our Atlanta eye doctor has prepared the following answers to your questions about eye disease.

At Vani Vision, we provide children, teens, and patients of all ages with a wide variety of contact lenses. If you’re concerned about the safety of contacts for your child, we’ll be happy to explain and explore ways to ensure maximum safety, optimal eye health and comfort. To learn more or to schedule a pediatric eye exam for contact lenses, contact us today.

What Are the Risks of Having My Child Wear Contact Lenses?

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A study published in the January 2021 issue of The Journal of Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics found that kids aren’t at a higher risk of experiencing contact lens complications.

The study followed nearly 1000 children aged 8-16 over the course of 1.5-3 years to determine how contact lenses affected their eye health.

The results indicate that age doesn’t have an effect on contact lens safety. In fact, the researchers found that the risk of developing infections or other adverse reactions was less than 1% per year of wear — which is comparable to contact lens wearers of other ages.

But before you decide that contact lenses are right for your child, you may want to consider whether your child is ready to wear them. During his or her eye doctor’s appointment, the optometrist may ask about your child’s level of maturity, responsibility, and personal hygiene. Since many children are highly motivated to wear contacts, they tend to display real maturity in caring for their lenses. That said, in the initial stages, parents may need to play an active role, as their child gets used to inserting and removing the new contact lenses.

It’s important to note that just as with any other medical device, contact lenses are not risk-free. Anyone who wears contact lenses has a chance of developing eye infections or other complications with contact lenses. However, when worn and cared for according to your eye doctor’s instructions, contact lenses are low-risk and perfectly safe for children and teenagers.

So, go ahead and bring your child in for a contact lens consultation! We’ll help determine if your child is ready for contacts and answer any questions you or your child may have. To schedule your child’s contact lens fitting or eye exam, contact Vani Vision in Atlanta today.

Call Vani Vision on 770-431-1713 to schedule an eye exam with our Atlanta optometrist.

Alternatively book an appointment online here CLICK FOR AN APPOINTMENT

Just in case you missed them, here are some of our previous blog posts :

What is a stye anyway?

What’s in Your Household Cleaning Supplies?

Smart Hygiene Habits to Care for Your Contact Lenses

Why You Regularly Need to Replace Your Sunglasses

Ortho-K – Everything you should know, Dr. Patel – Vani Vision, Atlanta, Orthokeratology,optometrist,eye care GA

The cornea is the front part of your eye that helps shape light as it enters. If the cornea is not shaped correctly, images become blurry and hard to discern. Ortho-K gently reshapes your cornea, giving it the proper shape to bend light to give you the best sight possible.

Many people with mild to moderate nearsightedness, with or without astigmatism may benefit from the use of ortho-k lenses. Since the effects of ortho-k lenses are reinforced only if worn every night, if wear is discontinued, your eyes return to their original shape. Risk for ortho-k is, therefore, quite minimal and ortho-k patients can discontinue at any time without adverse effects. Use of Ortho-k also does not rule out LASIK in the future. Although Ortho-k lenses are primarily prescribed to correct nearsightedness, they also may be used to correct astigmatism, farsightedness and, in some cases even presbyopia.

The fact that this procedure takes place while you sleep means that each morning, when you wake up, all you need to do is take out your contact lenses and you are able to enjoy improved eyesight up to 20/20 all day., Dr. Patel, Atlanta eye doctor.

During your specialized ortho-k fitting, your eye doctor will ensure you are a good candidate for ortho-k lenses and make sure that the lenses are properly fitted for comfort and safety. The eye doctor will begin by obtaining measurements of your “corneal topography.” This procedure is painless and takes only about a minute. This gives the doctor a detailed picture of the unique topography of your eye. Your doctor will then either fit you from an in-office inventory of ortho-k lenses, or may order a custom pair for fitting at a later appointment. The first pair or two of lenses are usually temporary, in order to start the process of re-shaping your cornea. By the third pair, most people can expect to reach their fullest level of vision correction.

The amount of time it takes to begin experiencing a change of vision with ortho-k varies from person to person. Some people may have great vision after a day or two of using ortho-k lenses overnight, whereas those that require a stronger prescription may take up to a few weeks before attaining the full benefit.
If you would like to be glasses and contacts free but are not an ideal candidate for refractive surgery either because of age or other eye conditions like dry eyes, you may still benefit from ortho-k.
It is important to note that Ortho-k lenses are highly specialized and only specially certified optometrists are able to provide fittings for these lenses. For more information, and to see if ortho-k lenses are a suitable solution for you, contact your eye care professional today.

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