At what age can contact lenses be worn? At what age can children wear contact lenses? Which ones are better? Advantages and disadvantages. How to learn to put on and take off

Visual impairment - common problem V childhood. Vision correction is required for nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, anisometropia and others. 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. 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 children wear contact lenses?

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

Untreated lenses can provoke an infectious infection of the eyeball.

Extended wear lenses are generally not indicated for children. When there is a need to wear lenses for a long time, then rigid gas-tight lenses are prescribed. As a rule, indications for wearing such lenses are some diseases - myopia, keratoconus. Rigid lenses are significantly different from soft lenses, it takes time to get used to them.
In what cases and from what age it is possible to wear contact lenses, an ophthalmologist will tell you. Studies show that the development of myopathy or nearsightedness slows down if the child wears lenses. In some cases, the process stops completely.
Farsightedness or hypermetropia also requires correction. With such a pathology, the lenses more clearly display the surroundings. Often other methods of vision correction are not possible and lenses are the only available treatment tool. Astigmatism correction is necessary to prevent amblyopia and strabismus.
Anisometropia is an eye disease characterized by different refractions of the eyes. This anomaly is more often congenital or hereditary. Evenly loading, the lenses allow both eyes to carry out the visual process. Amblyopia is a persistent unilateral or bilateral decrease in vision. This disease is formed in childhood and may not manifest itself. long time. The deviation is eliminated only in childhood, therefore effective treatment there are no adults. This disease requires correction mainly with the help of lenses. Indeed, to eliminate this deviation of the eye, which sees poorly, it is necessary to make it function in full force. When wearing glasses, one eye must be sealed. This looks ugly. The child is shy and does not want to wear glasses. Contact lenses avoid these problems. One of the lenses is clouded and placed over the eye, which is working at full capacity. The second lens is on the lazy eye, which encourages active work.

Today, many people use a variety of contact lenses. This is a fairly popular product that allows you to get convenience and refuse regular glasses. Many parents want to give their children comfort and therefore are interested in how old children can wear lenses for vision.

Children can use lenses from the age of 7

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, for children, many specialists can prescribe soft contact lenses. For children, in most cases, one-day or those lenses that can be worn for several months are prescribed. Those lenses that can be used for several months require careful care. 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 deal with similar problem on one's own.

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

When should a child wear contact lenses?

Many children want to look beautiful and therefore they plan to get rid of wearing glasses that could harm their appearance.

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

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

Where to begin

First you need to find out how old children can wear lenses for vision. If you have studied this information and understand 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 for no more than three hours a day. This will be enough time to get used to and then you can increase the wearing time.

You need to memorize all the information that the doctor will tell and then bring it to your child. In most cases, only a week will be enough for a child to understand the procedure for putting on and taking off. In some cases, this process can take up to a month.

Lens safety for children

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

To date, there are also contraindications for wearing lenses in a child. The main contraindications can be:

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

If the child does not encounter 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 the lenses must also be disposed of. Tell your child that if he has a cold, then it is also best to get rid of the lenses, as this can cause 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. During the use of contact lenses, such situations can be avoided. Also, thanks to the use of contact lenses, now the circle of vision will not be limited.

Colored or colorless

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

Many experts argue that it is impossible to use, since they will impair vision in a child. Try to explain to your child that in the first place, 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.

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 all 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 a serious disease 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 constant wear 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 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 an 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 correct solution. 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.

Busy parents do not limit their children's hobbies to gadgets, and then they begin to be interested, how old do you have to be to wear lenses.

Now vision problems in children do not surprise oculists. The number of their patients is constantly growing. One of the main reasons is gadgets.

Children spend days browsing the Internet on their phones, watching cartoons on TV and playing computer games.

First of all, it should be noted that this question decided on consultation with an ophthalmologist. Parents cannot make this decision themselves. During the conversation, two main points will be raised:

1. The essence of the problem. This is where the diagnosis comes into play. The age of the child is taken into account. It is important for the doctor to check that the lenses do not cause harm. In a child, the eyeball and cornea are formed before the age of 14. If you buy the wrong lenses, they will impair vision, bring a lot of discomfort. Moreover, such an acquisition will not help cure the baby.

2. Independence of the child. Caring for your lenses is a must. You need to be able to get them and put them, clean them. All this must be done on schedule. If you forget to clean the lenses, then after a few hours they will irritate your eyes. This issue is up to the parents. Either they themselves will control everything, or their child is old enough.

If lenses can cause harm, isn't it easier to buy ordinary glasses? To answer this question, let's look at benefits of quality lenses:

1. It is difficult for a child to develop, play and actively spend his time wearing glasses. Any flick and they will break. But good points are not cheap. By choosing glasses, you send your baby to the spare shop ... Nobody knows where this may lead in the future.

2. The angle of view is correct. There will always be curvature in glasses. This will interfere with coordination, change the color scheme.

3. The baby does not feel awkward. Appearance is important for children. Some look cool with glasses, and some just don't fit. It is worth listening to the opinion of the child. Otherwise, it may then result in depression and removal.

4. The child may lose glasses, but not lenses. They cannot be forgotten in kindergarten or school. This means that the list of expenses is reduced.

Not always a child with problematic vision needs lenses. Sometimes you can do drug treatment. But we will analyze those cases, when you can't go without lenses:

• myopia (it has been proven that night lenses slow down its development or even completely restore vision);
• farsightedness (lenses correct vision, often bring the matter to an ideal state);
• strabismus or its first manifestations (the lenses make both eyes work, so that the pupils gradually align);
• recovery after cataract surgery (lenses help the eyes recover).

This block applies to all parents who will soon be buying lenses. It is worth taking the decision seriously, since a lot depends on it. We provide you with some tips to make the task easier:

• you cannot buy lenses without diagnostics and conclusions of an ophthalmologist;
• do not choose an economical option if the doctor has prescribed another;
• explain to the child the reason for wearing lenses, but rather ask an ophthalmologist to do this;
• buy for the first time disposable lenses that need to be changed every day;
• keep them clean, as there is always a risk of developing conjunctivitis;
• Teach your child how to put them on and take them off.

Remember that today many children wear lenses. If they are correctly selected, the child will not feel discomfort. He will be able to see the world in all colors and enjoy life. So do not worry and trust your doctor. Lenses have already helped thousands of children!

P.S. The article - how old can you wear lenses is published in the heading - Health and beauty.

When choosing lenses for a child, pay attention to a number of criteria that the product must meet. The main criterion is a high level of oxygen enrichment of the eye, because the cornea constantly needs a fresh supply of air. If the product interferes with the supply of oxygen, hypoxia of the eye tissues develops. Doctors recommend wearing lenses in childhood with high air permeability.

It is better to choose hydrogel options that are suitable for the emerging cornea. However, sometimes doctors allow you to wear lenses from the age of 6-7, if the baby can put on, take off and care for them on his own.

Teaching your child how to use contact lenses is not difficult.

Children from 7-8 years old can wear disposable products, which is much more convenient to use. Over time, you can teach your child to use reusable lenses. Gradually, children will learn to take them off and put them in a special container.

How to choose the right

Properly selected contact lenses will help the eye grow without deformation and deviations. An ophthalmologist will help you choose a product and determine how old it can be used.

There are 8 stages for choosing lenses for children of school and preschool age:

1. Examination of the child on a special lamp to exclude situations in which it is contraindicated to wear lenses.
2. Establishing the characteristics of the eyes for choosing a probe (diameter, curvature of the cornea is determined).
3. Setting the angle of refraction of light rays in optical system eyes.
4. Checking the child's vision and establishing the reasons for the deviation.
5. Trying on a lens to determine whether it is comfortable to wear, the degree of mobility, measuring visual acuity.
6. Measurement optical power is carried out after the establishment of the refraction of light rays in the eye together with the lens.
7. Fitting and searching for an option where the necessary centering and level of visual acuity is achieved.
8. Explaining to the child and his parents the rules for using the product.

It is the responsibility of the ophthalmologist to make sure the parents can remove the lens from the child's eye.

Soft for daytime wear

Soft lenses for vision correction, which are designed for daily wear, can be worn from the age of 8. At this age, it is already possible to form a care skill in children, teach them to take off and dress correctly.

The main advantages of soft contact lenses for daily wear:

• Improve vision in children, will not cause distortion of shapes and colors;
• Prevent further deterioration of vision, restore to normal;
• The child can wear them, while actively moving and playing sports;
• The level of perception is not disturbed, the child's vision develops normally.

Rigid contact lenses for children are prescribed for a number of serious illnesses- high degree.

Night hard

During the night they change the shape of the cornea. In the morning, after removal, the shape of the cornea does not change and you can do without additional correction all day. Night lenses to restore vision significantly reduce the risk of myopia in childhood. The use of orthokeratological agents helps to correct the level of vision and stop the development of myopia in childhood.

Orthokeratological correction means have a number of advantages over analogues and glasses:

• Allow not to correct vision in the daytime;
• Can be driven active image life, to train without experiencing discomfort;
• Parents help to put it on in the evening and take it off in the morning;
• Night lenses pass oxygen well;
• A child who refuses glasses feels comfortable in the company of peers.

Previously, to stop the growth of myopia, one had to resort to medical techniques. Therapy was carried out with the help of drops, but the benefits were short-term, and the discomfort was significant. With the use of night contact lenses, children have the opportunity to study and play sports, and not spend time in the clinic.

Perifocal

Perifocal lenses for children are made using the special Perifocal technology and help to correct the central and peripheral refraction of light rays. There are also multifocal products.

There are several types of perifocal lenses:

• "Perifocal M" - can be worn with myopia in progressive stages. The mechanism of work is to limit the growth of the eye.
• "Perifocal H" - is prescribed for if the child already had this pathology at birth.
• "Perifocal P" - used for prevention.

The selection of lenses for children is carried out using gradual increase refraction so that ultimately maximum vision is achieved. For those who have myopia, the ophthalmologist prescribes a lens with minimal refraction. With farsightedness, on the contrary, maximum refraction is necessary.

For one day wear

The best option for a child is lenses that are worn for only one day. Daily lenses have high level safety, they do not need to be supervised. They are used starting from the morning rise, and just thrown out before going to bed. If the child can maintain hygiene, then the ophthalmologist will allow you to wear permanent lenses. Disposable in without fail taken before daytime or nighttime sleep.

colored

In order for lenses for vision correction to be visible to children in a colorless solution, colored analogues can also be prescribed. There is an opinion that paint is harmful to health. In fact, the pigment does not cause any harm to the eyes and has the necessary safety standard. The paint is between the polymer parts and does not come into contact with the eye.

Before purchasing, it is important to choose an option that matches the color of the eyes. Do not worry that the children will look stupid or defiant, because colored lens copies the contour of the iris. To constantly wear contact lenses, you can choose a natural shade, and for holidays and celebrations - original colors.

How to put on

At first, parents will have to be nervous to explain to their children how to put on contact lenses. Devices feel like foreign body, hence a number of inconveniences arise, but as you get used to it, the discomfort will disappear.

Detailed instructions on how to put on lenses:

1. To wash hands;
2. Open the package;
3. Get the lens and determine where is the front and where is the back;
4. Arrange on right hand so that the convex part is located on the finger;
5. Lower the lower eyelid with the same hand;
6. Eyes look up;
7. Lower the lens onto the sclera of the lower part of the eyeball;
8. Remove finger;
9. Lower your eyes down to center your gaze;
10. Let go of the eyelid;
11. Blink a couple of times to secure.

When using for the first time and lack of experience, you can ask a specialist for help.

If the product has defects, then it can not be worn. If a manufacturing defect is found, the product must be changed at the pharmacy. You can not wear more time than specified in the instructions, otherwise vision will not be restored, but worsen.

How to quickly withdraw

To quickly get rid of the lenses, you need to perform a number of simple manipulations:

1. First of all, it is important to wash your hands thoroughly;
2. Prepare the container and fill it with a special liquid;
3. Post middle finger in the center of the century;
4. Touch the lens with your index finger and, gently pressing, lower it into the lower part of the sclera;
5. Grab the optical product so that it falls into the part between the thumb and forefinger, then remove it;

After removal, immediately lower into a special liquid, each in its own part of the container. Wash your hands again and apply drops containing a tear substitute.

How to care for lenses

For care, it is necessary to purchase special solutions, preferably from the same manufacturer, since incompatible components lead to material deformation. Always empty the container after putting on the lenses, then refill.

Do not use tap water or distilled water as a solution, as well as other liquids not intended for such purposes.

Instruct children that lenses are for one person only and should never be shared with friends or family members. It is forbidden to swim in pools, rivers and other bodies of water, so as not to infect.

Be sure to inform the ophthalmologist about medicines used by the child. Substances contained in some drops can lead to the destruction and deformation of the product.

Possible complications and consequences

Failure to comply with the rules for the use of vision correction products may result in the following consequences:

• The cornea starts to swell. Insufficient oxygen permeability of the material when worn leads to edema. Vision deteriorates, surrounding objects become blurred.
• Damage to blood vessels in the eyes. Lack of oxygen, incorrect selection and violation of the integrity of the lens lead to corneal injuries.
• The appearance of infections. If you do not take care of the product, then ulcers and microtraumas may appear on the cornea.
• Allergies can occur in children who wear optical aids all the time.