Contact vision correction in children - tips and rules for the care of contact lenses. From what age can a child wear contact lenses: from what age are devices for vision correction selected

Ideas for creating the perfect option contact correction vision slipped in the works of many famous scientists, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jung, Friedrich Müller, Adolf Fick.

Lenses were originally made of glass, but they were too heavy and the glass too unreliable. Subsequently, plastic lenses appeared, in the optical zone of which glass was inserted, but this modification was also not in demand.

Lenses machined from plastics were a new trend. However, they were not well tolerated by patients.

Polymer hydrogel (hydroxymethyl ethacrylate polymer) - a material that can both retain water and pass oxygen, was invented by the Czech Otto Wichterle only at the end of the 50s of the last century. From that moment began new era soft contact lenses and, as a result, contact vision correction.

The advent of silicone hydrogel lenses with high oxygen permeability has made it possible to create "breathable" lenses.

Today development medical science and technology is on such high level that lenses equipped with microcircuits may soon appear, allowing you to monitor the level of the main indicators of the body.

What is important to know about lenses?

A lens is a miniature optical system worn on the eye. The back surface of the lens almost completely repeats the shape of the cornea, and the front surface corrects the violation optical system eyes.

A modern requirement for all lenses is high oxygen permeability. One of the main refractive structures of the eye is the cornea. She needs oxygen.

A lens placed on the cornea prevents the active penetration of oxygen, resulting in corneal hypoxia. Children are recommended to prescribe lenses with high oxygen permeability.

There are a great many classifications of lenses - according to materials, production methods, wearing mode, replacement periods and oxygen permeability.

It is believed that the age of 10 - 12 years, when the child is able to make proper care behind contact lenses, is ideal for this type of correction.

Teenagers care about looks, which they think glasses can ruin. With lenses, this situation is impossible.

In some cases, lenses can be used from the age of 6-7 years. In this case, the care of the lenses should be carried out by the parents.

There are so-called night orthokeratological lenses prescribed for children with myopia or accommodation spasm. Their advantage is wearing it at night.

How are lenses selected?

Lenses are selected by ophthalmologists. Initially, visual acuity is determined, refractometry, examination. Next, the mode of wearing lenses will be determined. Parents and child will be notified of the timing of the replacement.

It should be noted that lenses are immediately prescribed to children who have already undergone spectacle correction.

If this is the primary treatment, then, most likely, the selection of lenses will be carried out only after determining the magnitude of refraction and correction according to certain rules.

You should not try to fit lenses, as well as glasses, without having spent full examination, since in this case you risk reducing visual acuity, as well as spending money on the wrong thing.

After selecting lenses, take care to purchase a container for them, tweezers, as well as a special solution.

Very often, wearing lenses causes dry eyes, so consult an ophthalmologist about drugs (drops or gels) that can cope with this symptom.

There are several ways to put on a lens. Don't worry if it doesn't work the first time. The lens is usually perceived by the eye as foreign object, therefore, certain difficulties are possible, which, through constant training, quickly pass.

Sequence of putting on the lens:

If you or your child is using lenses for the first time, ask an ophthalmologist for help.

If the lens is defective, do not use it. Contact an optics salon if the lens was initially defective. If a factory defect is found after inspection of the lens, the lens may be replaced.

Do not use lenses beyond the recommended replacement period.

The lens manufacturer also produces multifunctional solutions with antibacterial and cleansing properties.

1. Try to use lenses and solutions from the same company, as the use of solutions that are inappropriate in their composition can damage the lens.
2. Follow the rules for use and storage. Always empty the solution from the container immediately after putting on the lenses and refill it with new solution.
3. Do not use raw or distilled water, saliva or other solutions as lens solution.
4. Explain to your child that lenses are individual means vision correction, so you should not let even close friends and relatives wear them.

What are the limitations of lenses?

1. You can not dive in open and closed reservoirs in lenses, as their structure is a favorable place for the development of microorganisms.
2. It is necessary to warn the doctor about the drugs that the child instills in the eyes, as some medical devices are not absorbed into required quantities in eyes with lenses while others cause structural changes the lenses themselves.

There are a number of diseases that can result from wearing lenses:

1. Edema of the cornea. A small amount of oxygen received by the cornea due to prolonged wearing of the lens leads to the development of its edema. Visual acuity decreases, and the outlines of objects become blurry. If this happens, contact your ophthalmologist immediately.

2. Appearance blood vessels on the cornea (neovascularization). The appearance of this disorder is also associated with hypoxia (lack of oxygen). However, lens defects leading to traumatization of the cornea, or improper selection of lenses, can also be the cause. given state. An ophthalmologist should be consulted immediately.

3. Infectious lesions. Ulcers, erosions and infiltrates occur on the cornea as a result of poor lens care, non-observance of personal hygiene rules. infectious process often combined with allergic. And microorganisms form new, resistant to medicinal substances, strains.

4. Allergic reactions and diseases. Giant papillary conjunctivitis is a common allergic disease in persons who have been using the method of contact vision correction for a long time. An allergic reaction in this case is caused by a combination of two factors:

• firstly, irritated conjunctiva, which has been in contact with a lens contaminated with protein deposits for a long time.
• secondly, the contact of the conjunctiva with the lens, on the surface of which there are remnants of the denatured tear enzyme - lysozyme.

Violation of the rules for the care of lenses, as well as exceeding allowable time wearing lenses can lead to the development of this disease.

In the case of the development of any of these diseases, a number of symptoms occur, when they appear, you need to contact an ophthalmologist:

1. Redness of the eyes.
2. Edema of the eyelids.
3. Pronounced lacrimation and lacrimation.
4. Decreased visual acuity.
5. Sensation of a foreign body, burning.
6. Marked itching.
7. Photophobia.
8. Large amount of discharge (sour eyes).
9. Lens intolerance.

Remember, contact vision correction will allow the child to see the world more clearly. But only proper lens care will make it possible to do this without problems.

AT recent times glasses have reached the peak of fashion - with their help you can create a stylish and interesting image. More often glasses "for appearance" are worn by those who actually do not have vision problems. However, the self-esteem of a person and, in particular, a teenager directly depends on his appearance, and those who suffer from nearsightedness or farsightedness do not at all like to wear "eyepieces" that exhibit a disadvantage human vision for show And low self-esteem affects both academic performance and relationships in the classroom ... Therefore, many refuse to wear glasses and wish to wear contact lenses.

What it is?

Contact lenses are a device that is used to correct vision. Lenses are made of soft transparent materials and are worn directly on the eye - this method of vision correction is called "contact".

According to statistics, about 125 million people use contact lenses all over the world.

Advantages contact lenses:

1. Do not spoil the appearance.
2. A person sees in them better than in.
3. Less distortion of the environment.
4. Wearers of contact lenses can engage in active sports.
5. Lenses, unlike glasses, do not fog up.
6. Lenses are more effective in correcting certain pathologies.

Flaws contact lenses:

1. It is inconvenient to dress without a certain skill.
2. Contact lenses cause eye irritation for some people.
3. Lenses are more expensive than glasses.

Types of contact lenses

Soft contact lenses with monthly replacement and one-day contact lenses are best suited for vision correction. If you choose lenses for a child, then it is best to use one-day lenses - vilify the day and throw them away. But monthly soft lenses are also comfortable and practical if taken care of properly. Every day they need to be cleaned of protein deposits using a special solution, and also removed at night and put in a container filled with a solution for storing contact lenses.

There are also soft long-wear lenses (they can be worn for longer), and hard lenses (which are prescribed by an ophthalmologist only for certain diseases, such as myopia).

When does a doctor prescribe lenses?

Often - this is not just a person's choice to hide their visual "ailment". Sometimes they are prescribed by the attending physician, depending on the disease that the patient's eyes suffer from.

At what age can contact lenses be worn?

And now we come to the most interesting - at what age can you wear contact lenses. As ophthalmologists say, there are no age restrictions for wearing lenses in general - it all depends on your responsibility and on the responsibility of the child. By special indications contact lenses are prescribed for children at the age of 7-8 years: at this time, children can easily learn to put on and take off lenses themselves. In order not to burden the child with complex lens care, it is easier to buy one-day lenses.

And if children under the age of 14 are prescribed lenses according to certain indications, then, starting from the age of 14, adolescents can decide to wear contact lenses themselves. The fact is that by this age the development and growth of the cornea of ​​​​the eye is completed, and the lens will not interfere with the formation of the main visual organ. Therefore, up to 14 years of age, lenses without medical indications better not to wear. In addition, teenagers are more independent and will be more careful and attentive to the lens care procedure.

But remember: it is better to buy for the first time after visiting an ophthalmologist who will select best option taking into account all individual characteristics structure of the patient's eye.

Video - Are contact lenses harmful?

How to put on lenses?

Having acquired lenses, you think: “But how to put them on?”. Without proper skill, what to take off, what to put on lenses is not an easy task, but you can learn everything if you follow the instructions.

Taking off lenses for the first time is also not easy, but everything comes with experience.

Throw out daily lenses immediately after use, and lenses with a different wearing period, remove deposits and carefully lower them into the lens case.

This question can be answered unequivocally - the age at which contact lenses can be worn is eight years. Why eight? Because by the age of eight, the child becomes collected and begins to understand the responsibility entrusted to him for the care of 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! To correct children's vision, soft ones are often prescribed - one-day ones or those that should be changed at least once a month.

Everything is clear with one-day ones - in the evening I took it off and disposed of it. It is these lenses that are considered optimal for children to wear. They do not require processing and are absolutely 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 washed with a special solution from the protein deposits that have accumulated during the day, in order to avoid infection of the eyeball. In the first days, you should control the process, explain to the child how to properly care for the lenses and prevent him from formally performing this serious procedure.

Long-wear soft lenses should be avoided. For long-term wear by doctors in special occasions Rigid gas-tight contact lenses are prescribed. Indications for wearing them are diseases such as keratoconus or myopia. Rigid lenses are very inconvenient, because the eye feels them as something foreign, and therefore it will take time to get used to them.

When should a child 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 encountered lately MYOPIA or myopia. According to the results latest research it has been proven that the use of contact lenses slows down the development of myopia, and sometimes stops it completely.

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

Such serious illness how ASTIGMATISM can also be corrected 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 not possible, lenses are the only way treatment.

At ANISOMETROPIES When the refraction of the eyes is significantly different, wearing lenses will help the child avoid further amblyopia. Lenses enable both the left and right eyes to participate in the visual process, loading them and not allowing them to be lazy.

If you miss the moment and do not correct anisometropia, inevitably one eye, the one that saw worse than the second, 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 one, which is used to taking responsibility, has to be closed. Agree, it does not look very nice and a rare child will gladly agree to the constant wearing of glasses with one sealed glass. And this is where contact lenses come to the rescue, one of which is specially “clouded”. She puts on the eye, which is accustomed to work. This procedure called "penalization". It is also good because the child does not have the opportunity to "peep" 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 with AFAQIA . Unfortunately, cataracts are not only for the elderly, they also happen to children. And it doesn’t matter if the cataract is congenital or traumatic, after surgery to remove it - The best way recovery visual function- Wearing contact lenses.

Where to start

Let's start with the fact that the doctor prescribed lenses. They are bought, the case is small - put on and wait for the results. But not everything is so simple. The eyes must adapt. The first day you should walk with lenses for 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-seventy percent - up to fifteen hours. And it would be useful to remind you that it is imperative to remove lenses from your eyes before going to bed!

Before putting on lenses, wash your hands with soap and dry with a clean towel. Remove the lens from the container and take a close look at where it is front side. Place the lens on the index finger of the working hand. With the fingers of the other hand, spread the eyelids of the eye and place the lens on eyeball. Release your eyelids and blink gently - the lens will fall into place.

To remove the lens, also fix the eyelids, press lightly on the lens with your index finger and look up. When the lens is on the white of the eye, very carefully grab it with a large and index fingers and remove. Immediately place in a special solution and leave it until the morning.

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

Security questions

Wearing contact lenses will be safe if the child learns and carefully follows all the rules for wearing and caring for lenses. The main factor of this moment is an independent desire to use lenses, not glasses. Only in this case, the child will follow all the rules for using lenses - remove them before going to bed, place them in a special disinfectant solution ... And parents will need to monitor 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. Manufacturers claim that these lenses are not harmful for children to wear. 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 to wearing lenses. Very rarely, but their individual intolerance occurs. 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 that they be abandoned. And finally, barley on the eyelid is another contraindication.

Remove lenses before visiting a bath or sauna. All hygiene procedures associated with the ingress of water into the eyes should also be carried out without lenses on the eyes. But classes water sports Sports with lenses are possible by wearing swimming goggles that are airtight and keep water out of the lenses, preventing them from being washed off.

Make sure that a child with lenses on his eyes is not in the room in which paint and varnish work is carried out.

Remove from inaccessible place small child all aerosol bottles - hair sprays, perfumes, deodorants and more. Explain to an older child that when using them, it is necessary to protect the eyes from getting aerosols into them.

Colds accompanied by coughing, sneezing, copious secretions from the nose - a serious contraindication to wearing lenses by a child. This is because dilated vessels reduce the distance between the lens and the eyeball, which leads to tear stasis and almost inevitable infection.

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

And lastly, if a child inadvertently dropped a lens on the floor, regardless of whether it happened at home or outside, it should not be washed and used for wearing. Throw away and replace with a new one - the only the right decision. But if the lens fell on a book, knee or table, ... put it in a special disinfectant solution 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 best case they can simply fall and break, and in the worst case, they will 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 circle 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 natural 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 you can not only improve vision, but also change eye color. Do I need to go to them? Experts say it's better not to. can change the color of the iris, make light blue eyes - bright blue, gray-green - green - it's beautiful. But ... To give color to the product, it needs high density, which, in turn, makes the lenses stiffer compared to colorless ones. Wearing colored lenses can cause discomfort and irritation of the eyeball. Therefore, try to convince your fashionista of the inappropriateness of putting beauty, not eye health, at the forefront. If that doesn't work, go to pediatric ophthalmologist and hopefully it will help your child make the right choice.

The key is prevention

Protect the eyes of the child from diseases and prevent visual impairment within the powers of the parents. If your child is at risk - you or your spouse have had myopia or farsightedness since childhood, the child is addicted to reading and does not part with books, became interested in computer games - it's time to take action. Students elementary school is the most vulnerable age. Do not think that visiting an optometrist is a trifling matter. Check your child's vision at least twice a year. Create conditions for him that will not allow the deterioration of vision to progress.

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

Buy your child big, bright toys. Books - with large, clear pictures. If the child begins to read, the font should be large, classic. Remember! Straining your eyes to look at the picture small size or read a rhyme printed in small letters, the child embarks on the path of deterioration in visual acuity.

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

Food also has importance for eye health. Every day the child should receive a portion of vegetables and fruits. Give preference to dark green fruits. Blueberries and carrots are very useful.

Helps with eye fatigue visual gymnastics. Master her technique and teach your baby.

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

Contact lenses, which are soft and hard, decorative and cosmetic, are a fairly common ophthalmic product. Adults, in the absence of significant contraindications to wearing, are happy to resort to this method. At what age can children wear lenses?

A small child cannot yet control himself like an adult. And given that the lens is placed directly in the eye on the iris, it is difficult to keep track of the safety of the baby. Experts say that, in extreme cases, children can wear contact lenses from the age of eight. For severe refractive errors and congenital anomalies eye contact lenses are prescribed even for babies up to a year. Under standard conditions, ophthalmic drugs of this type appointed only from the age of fourteen.

The contact method of correcting a child's vision can be applied in the case of therapeutic and preventive measures of such ophthalmic problems:

• myopia (nearsightedness) - can help stop the development of the disease;
• hypermetropia (farsightedness) - in lenses the child feels more confident than in glasses, they give a more accurate picture of the surrounding objects;
• astigmatism - lenses can prevent the development of strabismus, amblyopia;
• anisometropia - wearing lenses prevents the development of the "lazy eye" syndrome;
• amblyopia - special lenses with a foggy effect are aesthetically more attractive than glasses with one closed glass (children really do not like to look like a "pirate");
• aphakia.

Causes of age restrictions for wearing contact lenses

The human eye is the only organ that from birth to last days life does not change in size. So, no matter how old, children can wear lenses in the same way as adults? Although the eyeball does not change as the child grows, some developmental processes do occur. The cornea of ​​a child's eye develops until about 7-14 years of age. Constant wearing contact lenses, which are still foreign body, may affect normal flow this process. Therefore, when selecting soft lenses, the radius of curvature is taken into account.

The second reason for the age limit is the same inability of the child to be responsible for compliance with the rules for wearing soft lenses. It is difficult for a young child to follow the rules for caring for an ophthalmic product, which, moreover, should be put on and taken off daily, cleaned and changed in a timely manner. True, there are cases when even a ten-year-old child copes with tasks quite independently. All this is individual.

Soft contact lenses are transparent hemispheres made of special materials. The range also includes products with decorative properties. At what age can a child wear colored lenses? At least from 8, if you really want to, ideally, if the child waits until 14. There is no difference for the eye between clear and colored lenses. The only difference is an artificial change in the color or tone of the iris.

Read also:

• The Bates Method of Restoring Vision: Eye Exercises

We select contact lenses for a child

Vision problems are increasingly being diagnosed at an early age. For the most part, this is due to the influence of computers and other on-screen electronics, the school. An ophthalmologist prescribes glasses for children with farsightedness and myopia. Many are very painful about this, afraid of becoming an object of ridicule. So parents are asked to buy contact lenses.

children school age a contractual vision correction method may be suitable if there is motivation. As a rule, after 1-3 months, a small user adapts to cope with the tasks of using and caring for lenses on his own. On the part of parents, only vigilance and control is required.

As we have already found out, there is no difference between wearing regular or colored lenses. And for a child, contact correction with a decorative effect can become original way self-expression. In ophthalmology offices for contact correction of vision, products intended for schoolchildren and adolescents are usually on sale.

You can start with soft one-day lenses. The product does not require compliance with care and storage measures. Every day the child unpacks a new pair, and in the evening the used product is simply disposed of. Lenses are sold individually, so there will be no problems with replacement. In addition, replacing lenses is sometimes cheaper than ordering a new pair of glasses.

Over time, you can switch to products with a wearing period of 7 to 30 days. Here you already need to follow the rules for caring for contact lenses and change them in a timely manner. From soft lenses for long-term wear, and even more so those that do not require daily removal, it is better to childhood refuse.

The first time the lenses should be worn for 2-3 hours, so that the eyes get used to the new conditions. Every day you can add 30-60 minutes. Wear no longer than 10-12 hours in a row for 38% hydrophilic lenses, 15 hours for 70-80% hydrophilic lenses.

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Unfortunately, visual impairments in children are becoming more and more common.

Glasses have proved to be a good means of correcting vision for young patients.

They correct vision well and help to achieve its restoration on initial stage eye disease.

In addition to glasses, there are many vision correction products on the market that differ in price, functionality and other qualities. Consider using contact lenses for children as many parents have different opinions about this method of correction.

Pros of contact lenses for children

The use of lenses has the following advantages:

There are many quality contact lenses on the market. They have high rate permeability to oxygen.

Contact lenses are the best solution for correcting visual impairment in children. They are prescribed to patients with refractive errors, different degrees and lens defects.

How old are you allowed to wear contact lenses?

It is traditionally believed that contact lenses are prescribed for children from the age of 14.

In some cases, lenses are prescribed from 6-7 years.

Some ophthalmologists recommend prescribing lenses for children as early as 6-7 years old. At the same time, the child must be able to take care of them himself. Such early term Doctors explain the beginning of wearing lenses by the fact that even small children can learn to conscientiously treat lenses and take care of them. And teaching them to put on and take off such lenses is easy.

contact lenses for children early age not sold in regular stores. They must be ordered according to an individual prescription, which is selected by an ophthalmologist. For such cases, doctors recommend hydrogel lenses, which are most suitable for the still unformed cornea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe eyes.

For children 7-8 years of age, disposable lenses can also be prescribed.. With them will be much less problems in operation. However, then the child must be accustomed to reusable lenses: the fact that the lenses must be worn, removed and stored in a special container.

How to choose the right contact lenses for children

The right lenses help proper development eyes, without complications and problems. Their selection is carried out only by a doctor. Stages correct selection lenses:

After the final choice of lenses, the child and parents are instructed on wearing lenses and caring for them.

How Parents Should Supervise Children's Lens Wear

Parents should know that only the steady implementation of all the doctor's advice will contribute to 100% vision correction. To do this, they must control the child and help him comply with the requirements of the doctor.

Parents should explain to the child that it is impossible to sleep in lenses. Also, don't wear them. longer than that period specified by the manufacturer.

To fully control the child, parents must hold simple rules and tips:

• It is necessary to assess how responsibly he will follow the recommendations of the doctor;
• Parents themselves need to be informed about the peculiarities of wearing lenses by a child;
• If it is clear that the child needs to be reminded to wash the dishes, make the bed, and so on, then it is obvious that he will also relate to wearing lenses;
• It is necessary to create a certain motivation for the child to wear them.;
• Supervision of the child should be carried out unobtrusively;
• For all problems, you should consult a doctor.

As a rule, compliance with all the rules for wearing lenses and their choice does not cause problems for the child.