At what age a child can wear contact lenses. Colored or colorless

  • Date: 25.04.2019

Changes in the quality of vision, alas, are not always associated with age. Children and adolescents can also suffer from myopia, hyperopia and other disorders. It is necessary to correct poor vision, but often children refuse to put on glasses. Most often, it is undesirable to resort to radical methods of correcting ophthalmic diseases by operations at a young age, and doctors simply may not give permission for such a procedure. There is only one way out - contact lenses... But can children wear contact lenses? How old can a child wear contact lenses? You will find the answers to these questions in our article.

At what age can contact lenses be worn?

The world community of ophthalmologists, through long experiments and discussions, has determined the ideal age to start using contact vision correction means - 14 years. However, this decision has one significant caveat: if medical indications are conducive to wearing optical discs, and the child is already able to realize the degree of responsibility, then parents can start buying lenses for their child from the age of 8, it is undesirable to do this earlier. Everyone's first steps toward growing up begin in different ages, but it is believed that until the age of 8, a child is not yet ready to take care of his health on his own.

Contact products for correcting vision have no contraindications regarding age. Therefore, the question of how many years the lenses can be worn should be answered by the parents themselves, who need to soberly assess their child's readiness to care for optical aids.

Contact lenses are harmless for children. Myth or Reality?

Children's contact lenses are really harmless, it's true. Modern manufacturing companies produce products that have a safe composition, and the medical community carefully monitors this. In some cases, it will be correct to say that children even need to wear lenses - this type of vision correction has a lot of advantages, among which it is worth highlighting the following:

Ability to lead active image life, without discomfort to attend physical education lessons, circles and sports sections.
... full viewing angle guaranteed, not possible with glasses.
... saving. Today, a high-quality frame with good glasses is not cheap, the loss of glasses threatens parents with another considerable expense. Much easier and cheaper to purchase a new pack of lenses.
... keeping the habitual appearance... All children are extremely vulnerable, which means that few people want to be teased with a "bespectacled" person, so contact lenses for children are the best solution to the problem. poor eyesight.

Lenses for children: which ones to choose?

Before deciding at what age a child can wear contact lenses, you should seek the advice of a specialist. Probably, the changes in the quality of vision are insignificant, therefore, it is not necessary to resort to correction through lenses. If the doctor confirms that the child can wear lenses and even need them, then only then it is worth moving on to the choice of optical products. As a rule, ophthalmologists prescribe soft contact lenses for children, which do not cause discomfort and do not feel at all like foreign body... Based on the required optical power, radius and diameter, an ophthalmologist will help you choose the most suitable option. Sometimes with more complex forms of abnormalities, doctors may prescribe the wearing of rigid gas-permeable contact lenses. Wearing them is not so comfortable, but it can help to cope with such a disease as keratoconus, in which the cornea of ​​the eye becomes thinner, deformed, taking a conical shape.

Typically, children can wear contact lenses that are designed to last for one day (one day), week, or month. The ideal choice is considered daily lenses that do not need to be looked after - they are disposed of immediately after removal, and a new pair of blisters opens the next morning. Weekly and monthly corrective products require daily care, which must be taught to children starting to wear contact lenses, the rules of hygiene and how to clean the lenses.

Lenses for children. Age is not a hindrance to proper use

As mentioned above, the main factor influencing the answer, from how old a child can wear lenses, is his willingness to take a responsible approach to wearing vision correctors, as well as caring for them. If a decision has been made, then parents should be extremely careful to monitor the wearing process for some time.

First of all, it is important to remember that the eyes must adapt to the presence of lenses. Therefore, doctors advise to use lenses for no more than three hours on the first day and gradually increase the time by 30-60 minutes. When it becomes finally clear that the organs of vision are calmly reacting to the appearance of contact lenses, you can allow children to wear them all day.

It is also very important to teach the child the very process of putting the product on the surface. eyeball... The ophthalmologist who prescribed the lenses will certainly provide instructions, but perhaps the child may forget something, so parents should observe this procedure and always be able to help. It is worth focusing the child's attention on the fact that before you start putting on the corrective tools, you need to wash your hands with soap and water, and put the lens on your index finger, make sure that it is not twisted.

You also need to conduct a mandatory conversation about the importance of lens care. The child should remember that before going to bed, the products must be removed and placed in a container with a special multifunctional solution if they are lenses of weekly or monthly use, or thrown away if they are daily lenses. Often, parents resort to tricks that help them train their child to remember the daily routine. They are helped by various unusual containers with images of cartoon characters or animals, symbols of children's hobbies (for example, a soccer ball) or other images that can attract attention. First, the child happily runs every evening to his favorite bright container, and then this nightly ceremony is postponed in the subconscious, and he literally automatically performs this action day after day.

Can I wear contact lenses every day as a child?

Like adults, children wear lenses every day - this can in no way negatively affect the health of the organs of vision. Optical discs should not be considered more harmful than glasses: modern technologies enable companies to produce perfectly safe means suitable for daily use. They can be worn fearlessly all day: the child puts on the lenses in the morning and takes them off in the evening. And so day after day. How long to wear lenses for your child is up to you and him to decide together. Some people prefer to rent them at home, but some products are allowed to operate for up to 12-14 hours.

Thus, the answer to one of the main questions of the article, whether children can wear contact lenses, is absolutely positive. But at what age children can wear lenses, you need to decide individually. The decision should be made jointly by the parents, the ophthalmologist and the child. Before buying optical products, do not forget to consult an ophthalmologist and undergo computer diagnostics of the organs of vision, this will allow you to choose the most optimal option.

Visual impairment - frequent problem v childhood... Vision correction is required for myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, anisometropia and other eye pathologies. How old can you wear contact lenses? - let's figure it out in this article.

Many children are embarrassed to wear glasses, although they need them for medical indications and. It is necessary to treat the eyes, but effective treatment is hardly possible if the child takes off his glasses at every opportunity. In such cases the best option there will be contact lenses.

Can contact lenses be worn by children?

Experts prescribe lenses to be worn after eight years. A child at this age is able to independently put on and take out lenses, take care of them. For children, soft daily lenses or lenses that need to be changed once a month are recommended. Daily lenses are great because they don't require maintenance. They are harmless and easy to use. Lenses that last for a month require careful maintenance. Many children do not pay enough attention to this, which is fraught with a number of problems. Lenses need to be treated daily with a special solution that washes away protein deposits deposited for the day.

Untreated lenses can cause an infection of the eyeball.

Long-term lenses, as a rule, are not shown to children. When there is a need to wear lenses for a long time, then rigid gas-permeable ones are prescribed. As a rule, indications for wearing such lenses are some diseases - myopia, keratoconus. Hard lenses are significantly different from soft lenses, and it takes time to get used to them.
In what cases and at what age you can wear contact lenses, the ophthalmologist will tell you. Research shows that the development of myopathy or myopia is slowed down when a child wears lenses. And in some cases, the process stops completely.
Farsightedness or hyperopia also requires correction. With such a pathology, the lenses more clearly reflect the environment. Often, other methods of vision correction are impossible and lenses are the only available treatment tool. Correction of astigmatism is necessary to prevent amblyopia and strabismus.
Anisometropia is an eye disease that results in different eye refractions. This anomaly is more often congenital or hereditary. By uniformly loading, the lenses enable both eyes to carry out the visual process. Amblyopia is a persistent, unilateral or bilateral decrease in vision. This condition is formed during childhood and may not show up. long time... The deviation is eliminated only in childhood, therefore effective treatment there are no adults. This disease requires correction primarily with lenses. Indeed, to eliminate this deviation of the eye, which sees poorly, it is necessary to make it function at full strength. When wearing glasses, one eye has to be glued. It looks ugly. The child is shy and does not want to wear glasses. Contact lenses can help you avoid these problems. One of the lenses is clouded over and placed on the eye, which works at full strength. The second lens is on the lazy eye, which encourages active work.

Many people now use a variety of contact lenses. This is a fairly popular product that allows you to get convenience and give up regular glasses. Many parents want to give their children comfort and therefore are interested in how many years old lenses can be worn for children.

Lenses can be used for children from 7 years old

In this article, we tried to discuss this issue in detail and therefore you will find out how many years you can wear contact lenses.

In most cases, many specialists can prescribe soft contact lenses for children. For children, in most cases, one-day or those lenses that can be worn for several months are prescribed. Lenses that can be used for several months require careful maintenance. In order for them to serve for a long time, they must be regularly washed and treated with a special solution. First you need to control this issue, and then the child needs to be explained how to cope with such a problem on his own.


The thinner the lens, the better

Many ophthalmologists do not recommend the use of long-term soft contact lenses, as the child will not be able to maintain regular care. Sometimes doctors may also prescribe hard contact lenses. Hard contact lenses for children from what age? This question is also considered popular, and experts recommend wearing them only if the child is facing keratotonu or myopia.

When is it recommended for a child to wear contact lenses?

Many children want to look beautiful and therefore plan to avoid wearing glasses that could harm their appearance.


By wearing lenses, you can get rid of myopia

Many experts argue that when a child uses contact lenses, then in this case the development various diseases it will slow down significantly. After conducting a series of studies that wearing lenses slows down the development of the following diseases:

  1. Afakia.
  2. Anisometropia.
  3. Amblyopia.
  4. Myopia.
  5. Hyperopia.
  6. Astigmatism.

Where to begin

First, you need to study how old you can wear lenses for children for vision. If you have studied this information and realized that the child can already use contact lenses, then you can go to the doctor and start choosing. When a specialist prescribes lenses, remember that at first you need to walk in them no more than three hours a day. This will give you enough time to get used to, and then you can extend the wearing time.


Over time, the child will learn to put on the lenses on their own.

You need to remember all the information that the doctor will tell and then bring it to your child. In most cases, the child will only need a week to understand the removal and donning procedure. In some cases, this process can take up to a month.

The safety of using lenses for a child

Wearing contact lenses for a child can be considered completely safe, but he needs to take into account certain rules... V recent times you can find lenses that can also be worn while sleeping. They provide a lot of amenities, but their choice must be approached responsibly.


Wearing lenses has contraindications

Today, there are also contraindications for wearing lenses in a child. The main contraindications may be:

  1. Individual intolerance.
  2. Allergic manifestations of the lenses.
  3. Diabetes.
  4. Dry eyes.

If the child does not face these contraindications, then the lenses can be used. Before visiting the bath, the child must remove contact lenses. Also, if the child will be engaged in the pool, then it is also necessary to get rid of the lenses. Tell your child that if they have a cold, then it is also best to get rid of the lenses, as this can be the cause of the side effects.

Why lenses and not glasses

Children are quite active. That is why, if they use glasses, then at the moment of careless handling they can break their glasses. When using contact lenses, these situations can be avoided. Also, thanks to the use of contact lenses, the range of vision will not be limited now.

Colored or colorless

Many children constantly ask their parents to purchase special lenses that will not only improve their vision, but also change the color of the eyes.


Colored lenses for children

Many experts argue that it cannot be used, since they will impair vision in a child. Try to explain to your child that, first of all, you need to put not beauty, but eye health.

Now you know exactly at what age you can wear contact lenses. We hope this information was useful and interesting.

Contact lenses for children are used from 1 year of age for medical reasons. At an older age, optical discs are also recommended for wearing in case of myopia as a replacement for glasses, over which they have a number of significant advantages. The devices are used after consultation with an ophthalmologist.

It is important to choose the correct size and power of the corrector. Contraindications exist, the doctor will also indicate them.

Child's age and optical discs

Wearing lenses by children

Many parents believe that such a method of correction as optical lenses is acceptable only for adults. Ophthalmologists, as a result of many years of observation and practice, have come to the conclusion that this is a delusion. Adaptations are indicated for some eye diseases, especially with myopia, which is spreading more and more actively due to the global computerization of society. The question of the appropriateness of application in the study is decided in favor of a new modern device.

Advantages and disadvantages


Some children develop an inferiority complex when wearing glasses.

Contact lenses are sometimes preferable to eyeglasses for many reasons. They give the child freedom of movement, he can play sports without hindrance and participate in children's entertainment. An inferiority complex is not formed, because many adolescents are sensitive to the assessment of their appearance by their peers. The devices provide a wide view, do not limit peripheral visibility, and are difficult to lose. Rigid orthokeratological lenses are put on at night to flatten the cornea, and the patient sees normally the next day. Soft ones hold water well and provide oxygen flow to the eyes, make it possible to correct vision in such diseases:

  • hyperopia;
  • myopia;
  • astigmatism;
  • anisometropia;
  • amblyopia.

The disadvantages include the difficulty of caring for optical discs from a child's perspective. Children begin to take an interest in their health from the age of 8. Until this age, parents will have to take care of the device. Daily lenses solve the problem, but you should think before settling on this option. In addition, the discomfort creates a relatively long-term addiction to the new type of vision correction.

Start wearing


For medical reasons, it is possible to correct vision in this way from one year.

The ophthalmologist decides at what age a child can wear contact lenses. Optical devices are useful for children's visual apparatus, they can be worn for the first time not only at the age of 13, but much earlier. Sometimes, for medical reasons, this method of correction is prescribed even to infants under 1 year old with such diagnoses.

On this question can be answered unequivocally - the age from which you can wear contact lenses is eight years. Why eight? Because by the age of eight, the child becomes collected and begins to understand all the responsibility entrusted to him to care for the lenses and is able to learn how to take them off in the evening and put them on in the morning. But there are situations when, according to medical recommendations, lenses are prescribed for children under one year old and this is, rather, an exception to the rule.

Note! For the correction of children's vision, soft ones are often prescribed - one-day or those that should be changed at least once a month.

With one-day, everything is clear - in the evening I took it off and disposed of it. It is these lenses that are considered optimal for children's wear. They do not require processing and are completely harmless.

Those lenses that are recommended to be changed every week or every month require careful maintenance. It is necessary to ensure that the lenses are thoroughly rinsed with a special solution to remove protein deposits that have accumulated during the day, in order to avoid infection of the eyeball. In the early days, you should control the process, explain to the child how to properly care for the lenses and not allow him to formally perform this serious procedure.

Long-term soft lenses should be discarded. For long-term wear by doctors in special cases, rigid gas-tight contact lenses are prescribed. The indications for wearing them are diseases such as keratoconus or myopia. Rigid lenses are very uncomfortable, as the eye perceives them as something foreign, and therefore it takes time to get used to them.

When is it necessary for a child to wear contact lenses?

In addition to the purely aesthetic moment, when a child is embarrassed to wear glasses, does not want to be "bespectacled", there are a number of diseases in which the wearing of contact lenses is prescribed by an ophthalmologist.

And the first of them is a frequently occurring lately MYOPIA , or myopia. According to the results recent research it has been proven that the use of contact lenses slows down the development of myopia, and sometimes completely stops it.

HYPERMETROPIA , or hyperopia, can also be corrected with contact lenses. Moreover, wearing lenses, in contrast to glasses, gives the child a more accurate "picture" of the surrounding objects. And this fact, in turn, significantly reduces the likelihood of accidental injury at home and outside its walls.

Such serious illness how ASTIGMATISM , also amenable to correction with contact lenses. That gives a chance to avoid its most serious consequences - amblyopia and strabismus. Moreover, in some cases, when other methods of correction are impossible, lenses are the only method of treatment.

At ANISOMETROPY when the refraction of the eyes is significantly different, wearing lenses will prevent the child from further amblyopia. Lenses enable both the left and right eyes to participate in the visual process, loading them and do not allow laziness.

If you miss the moment and do not correct anisometropia, inevitably one eye, the one that saw worse than the other, becomes "lazy." This disease is called "lazy eye", or AMBLYOPIA ... To fix it, you need to make the lazy eye work, and for this the second, which is used to taking responsibility, has to be closed. Agree, it does not look very beautiful and a rare child will gladly agree to the constant wearing of glasses with one sealed glass. And here contact lenses come to the rescue, one of which is specially "fogged". It is put on the eye, which is used to working. This procedure is called "penalization". It is also good because the child does not have the opportunity to "peep" with a strong eye, taking off his glasses, he has to look at objects with a "lazy" eye, thereby forcing him to work.

- the most successful way to correct vision and AFAKIA ... Unfortunately, cataracts are not only for the elderly, they also happen in children. And it doesn't matter if the cataract is congenital or traumatic, after surgery to remove it is the best way to recover visual function- wearing contact lenses.

Where to start

To begin with, the doctor prescribed the lenses. They are bought, it is only a small matter - put on and wait for the results. But not everything is so simple. The eyes have to adapt. The first day you should walk with lenses no more than three hours, every day increasing the time by half an hour or an hour, bringing their number to ten to twelve for lenses of thirty-eight percent hydrophilicity. For sixty to seventy percent - up to fifteen hours. And it will be useful to remind you that it is imperative to remove lenses from the eyes before going to bed!

Before putting on the lenses, wash your hands with soap, dry with a clean towel. Take the lens out of the container and look carefully where the face of the lens is. Place the lens on the index finger of your working hand. With the fingers of your other hand, spread the eyelids and place the lens over the eyeball. Release your eyelids and gently blink - the lens will fall into place.

To remove the lens, also fix the eyelids, use your index finger to lightly press the lens and look up. When the lens is on the white of the eye, very carefully grab it with a large and forefinger and remove. Place immediately in a special solution and leave it overnight.

So, day after day, carrying out the procedure for putting on and removing lenses on the child's eyes, explain to him every step, every movement, and very soon he himself will easily cope with these simple manipulations, raising them to the rank of necessary daily procedures.

Security questions

It is safe to wear contact lenses if your child learns and carefully follows all the rules for wearing and caring for lenses. The main factor in this moment is the independent desire to use lenses, and not glasses. Only in this case, the child will follow all the rules for using the lenses - take them off before bedtime, place them in a special disinfectant solution... And the parents will need to keep track of the terms of use of the lenses worn by the child, and change them to new ones in time.

Recently, lenses have appeared that can not be removed during. The manufacturers claim that these lenses are not harmful to children. But almost all ophthalmologists agree that children still need to use lenses only in daytime... Otherwise, complications of a different nature are likely.

There are also contraindications for wearing lenses. It is very rare, but their individual intolerance is found. The body responds to lenses allergic reaction... If the child has diabetes- lenses are contraindicated for him. Also during infectious diseases lenses should be discarded. There is such a thing as a "dry" eye. Wearing lenses with this symptom will be uncomfortable and doctors recommend discarding them. And finally, barley on the eyelid is another contraindication.

Remove lenses before visiting a bath or sauna. All hygiene procedures associated with contact with water in the eyes should also be carried out without lenses on the eyes. But it is possible to practice water sports with lenses by wearing swimming goggles over your eyes, which are sealed to keep water out of the lenses and prevent them from being washed off.

Make sure that a child with lenses over his eyes is not in the room where paintwork is being carried out.

Move to an inaccessible place from little child all aerosol bottles - hair sprays, perfumes, deodorants and more. Explain to an older child that when using them, you need to protect your eyes from aerosols.

Colds accompanied by coughing, sneezing, copious secretions from the nose is a serious contraindication for a child to wear lenses. This is because the dilated vessels shorten the distance between the lens and the eyeball, leading to tear stagnation and almost inevitable infection.

In addition to all of the above, it should be explained to the child about the need to protect the eyes from the direct hit of hot steam into them (out of curiosity, children love to look into the pots on the stove to see what is being prepared there).

Finally, if a child inadvertently dropped the lens on the floor, whether it happened at home or outside, it should not be washed and worn. Throwing it away and replacing it with a new one is the only correct decision. But if the lens falls on a book, knee or table, .. put it in a special solution for disinfection for five to eight hours, then the lens can be used.

Why lenses and not glasses

Children are very active - sports, outdoor games or just running around during breaks. At these moments, falls, jumps are inevitable - the child often forgets that he wears glasses and at best they can just fall and break, and at worst they break without falling, and injure the face or, God forbid, the eyes of the child. Unpleasant traumatic situations are excluded when wearing contact lenses.

In addition, the range of vision will not be limited by the frame of the glasses. When a child uses contact lenses, his field of vision is full, he sees the surrounding objects in their full size and the distance to them is not increased or reduced, as is the case when looking through the lenses of glasses.

Colored or colorless

Teenage girls, sometimes boys, ask their parents to buy lenses for them, with which they can not only improve their vision, but also change the color of their eyes. Do I need to follow their lead? Experts say it’s better not. can change the color of the iris, make light blue eyes - bright blue, gray-green - green - it's beautiful. But ... to give color to a product, it needs a high density, which in turn makes lenses harder than colorless lenses. Wearing colored lenses can cause discomfort and irritation to the eyeball. Therefore, try to convince your fashionista that it is inexpedient to prioritize beauty, not eye health. If it doesn't work, go to a pediatric ophthalmologist and, we hope, he will help your child make the right choice.

The main thing is prevention

Parents can protect the child's eyes from diseases and prevent visual impairment. If your child is at risk - you or your spouse have had myopia or hyperopia since childhood, the child is addicted to reading and does not part with books, is carried away by computer games - it is time to take action. Students primary school- the most vulnerable age. Do not think that visiting an ophthalmologist is a trifling matter. Get your child's vision checked at least twice a year. Create conditions for him that will not allow the deterioration of vision to progress.

There should be enough sunlight in the children's room, and in the evening, well-organized electric lighting.

Buy big, colorful toys for your child. Books - with large, clear pictures. If a child begins to read, the font should be large, classic. Remember! Straining his eyes in order to examine a small picture or read a rhyme printed in small letters, the child takes the path of deteriorating visual acuity.

Watching cartoons and other children's TV shows should be dosed, as well as playing computer games... The maximum is half an hour.

Food also has essential for eye health. The child should receive a daily portion of vegetables and fruits. Prefer dark green fruits. Blueberries and carrots are very useful.

With eye fatigue, visual gymnastics helps. Master her technique and teach your toddler.

The statistics are relentless - eighty percent of children have vision problems. And not every one of them dares to put on glasses. The disease progresses, and the child is silent about his problem. And only on you, dear parents, it depends full life your son or daughter. He will see the world around him in all the variety of forms, colors and colors, or he will be content with little. You are required to convince him that lenses are the solution to his vision problems, you just need to contact a specialist and pick them up.