What age can you wear contact lenses?
Contact lenses offer a level of convenience that makes them a popular choice for many people who need vision correction. They allow for greater freedom of movement, making them ideal for active lifestyles. Plus, advancements in technology have made contact lenses more comfortable and easier to use.
With these perks in mind, some kids may be interested in wearing contact lenses. But how young is too young to try contacts? At what age can you wear contact lenses?
Kids’ contact lenses can be an excellent form of vision correction for many children and teenagers. Talk to your child’s optician to determine if contacts may be a good fit for them.
Can children wear contact lenses?
Yes, and many children are good candidates for contact lenses. While the average age at which a child is fitted for contacts is 13, children as young as 8 can wear contacts safely and successfully.
Contact readiness depends more on a child’s level of maturity than their actual age. This is because contacts require more maintenance than eyeglasses. Unlike glasses, your children’s contact lenses must be replaced daily, bi-weekly, or monthly, depending on the indicated wear schedule. Proper hygiene and lens care are also crucial to healthy contact use.
Some children’s contact lenses are medically necessary
There are special circumstances in which very young children, including babies, may need contact lenses. An example of this is if a baby has congenital cataracts, which occur when the natural crystalline lens of one or both eyes appears cloudy at birth or soon after.
If an infant has surgery to remove the cataracts, their eye surgeon may recommend extended-wear aphakic contact lenses after surgery to correct the baby’s vision and continue their visual development. This type of contact (and any additional forms of vision correction) will be used until later in life when intraocular lenses can be surgically implanted.
When to wear contact lenses
Kids and teens often want to switch from specs to contacts because of their sense of style and convenience. There are also scenarios where contacts are a better choice for your kid’s lifestyle. Here are some cases where contact lenses may be a good fit:
Your child plays sports
If your kid or teen is involved in sports, they may prefer to wear contact lenses over glasses. Contacts offer a fuller field of vision without the risks glasses have of fogging up, sliding down, or falling off during high-impact activities.
While prescription sports glasses and goggles can help prevent eye injuries in dedicated spectacle wearers, they may be cost-prohibitive. Contacts make it possible to use lower-cost, non-prescription protective eyewear while playing sports.
Contact lenses with UV-blocking technology can also help protect kids’ eyes from the sun’s harmful UV rays. However, they don’t provide the same level of UV protection as sunglasses because contacts only cover part of the eye.
To fully protect their eyes and the delicate surrounding skin, it’s important for kids to wear sunglasses with 100% UVA-UVB lens protection. Plus, the tinted lenses will help shade their eyes from bright sunlight.
Glasses impact your child’s self-esteem
Spectacles have come a long way recently in terms of their cool factor. With all types of frame colours and styles to choose from, many kids use their glasses as an opportunity to express themselves.
However, it’s quite common for kids to feel embarrassed or self-conscious when wearing glasses. If your child feels like specs just aren’t their style, contact lenses can correct their vision without changing their look.
Your child has a very strong vision prescription
Kids who need more help correcting their vision may enjoy contact lenses over spectacles. Typically, very high, or strong, vision prescriptions can make eyeglass lenses thick and heavy. While the use of thinner high-index lenses can help with this, stronger prescriptions can change how the eyes look by giving them a “coke-bottle” appearance.
Contact lenses can correct high vision prescriptions without heavy lenses or the feeling that you have googly eyes. In fact, many experts suggest rigid contacts can provide sharper visual acuity than eyeglasses.
There’s a higher risk of glasses being lost or broken
During the whirlwind of childhood, it’s natural for kids to break and lose things from time to time. But paying for multiple spectacle repairs and replacements can quickly add up.
By wearing contact lenses, your child doesn’t have to worry about the risk of breaking their lenses or keeping track of them. However, a child needs to exhibit a certain level of responsibility to wear contacts successfully.
While there are many perks to wearing contact lenses, it’s also important to consider the requirements that come with using them. If you’re concerned that your child will have trouble keeping up with the care routine and replacement schedule, they may need to wait another year before getting them.
Pros and cons of contact lenses for children
Deciding whether to get your child contact lenses is a big step, and weighing the benefits and drawbacks can help. Below are some pros and cons to consider:
PROS
- There is low risk of your children’s contact lenses tearing, breaking, or getting lost.
- Some wearers feel that contacts provide improved visual clarity and no-fuss wear during high-intensity activities.
- Contacts correct vision without changing a child’s appearance.
- Individual lenses are less expensive to replace than a pair of prescription eyeglasses.
CONS
- Your children’s contact lenses must be removed and either discarded or disinfected every night before bed, unless they are designed and approved for overnight wear.
- Contact users have an increased risk of eye infection if proper hygiene isn’t maintained.
- Regular contact lens replacement is required depending on the lens design and predetermined replacement schedule.
- Contacts should not be worn if the eyes are irritated due to illness, infection, or allergies.
How can I get contact lenses for my child?
The first step to getting your child contact lenses is to schedule an eye test and contact lens check for them. By notifying the eye care practice of your child’s interest ahead of time, they’ll ensure the appointment has enough time to include a contact lens fitting.
After your child has been examined and had contacts fitted, their eye care provider will provide you with a contact lens prescription. This will include a brand and type of contact lenses for your child to use, so you know exactly what to purchase from the Lenstore inventory of contacts.
SOURCES
- Wearing + caring for contact lenses. Bausch + Lomb. Accessed September 2024.
- Contact lenses for children and teens. British Contact Lens Association. Accessed September 2024.
- Contact lenses for kids: What to consider. HealthyChildren.org. American Academy of Pediatrics. July 2024.
- Congenital cataract. Merck Manual Professional Edition. March 2024.
- Advice for parents of children wearing contact lenses. NHS Cambridge University Hospitals. NHS Foundation Trust. December 2019.
- Can children wear contact lenses? Vision Direct. Accessed September 2024.
- UV contact lenses: How do they work? Vision Direct. Accessed September 2024.
- Are contacts better than glasses? Vision Center. February 2024.
- Why contact lens wearers are switching to glasses during COVID-19 threat. Wexner Medical Center. The Ohio State University. March 2020.