Nearly 14.5% of all children aged 17 and below wear contact lenses. Contact lenses can be a great option for correcting vision in your child. However, like many other parents, you might have concerns about the safety of contact lenses for your kids’ eyes. At Inner Harbour Optometry, we pride ourselves on helping our patients in Victoria and the surrounding areas achieve their vision goals. Read on for insights about kids’ contact lenses and safety.
Are Contact Lenses Safe For Kids?
Generally, contact lenses are safe for your kids if:
- The kids are old enough to wear the contacts responsibly without posing a risk of infection to their eyes.
- You are ready to help your young kids uphold the optometrist’s instructions and maintain optimal hygiene of the contacts to avoid eye infections.
- The kids are issued with the right prescription contacts for their eye condition.
What Contact Lenses Are Safe For Your Kids
Different contact lenses are designed to correct various eye conditions in kids. For instance, there are:
- Toric lenses for correcting vision in kids with astigmatism,
- Scleral lenses for kids with corneal imperfections,
- Ortho-k Lenses for kids with myopia, and
- Rigid Gas Permeable Contacts for vision clarity, among others.
You need the help of an optometrist to find the right contacts for your child to ensure their eye safety. Our optometrist at Inner Harbour Children’s Eye Care Center will conduct an eye exam to determine the underlying eye condition and then prescribe the right contact lenses for your child.
How To Establish Whether Your Child Is Ready To Use Contact Lenses Responsibly
Contact lenses are generally low-risk and safe for children and teenagers if used as per the eye doctor’s instructions. One way of ensuring that your kids can use the contacts responsibly is by taking them to an optometrist to get trained in aspects like:
- How to safely fit and care for the contacts,
- The importance of keeping their nails clean and short,
- How to replace the contacts, and
- The importance of going for regular eye exams.
You can tell your child is ready to use contact lenses if they can uphold high cleanliness and personal hygiene and are motivated to wear them.
How Optometrists Can Help Ensure The Safety Of Contact Lenses
Optometrists diagnose, correct vision problems, and treat various eye conditions. Therefore, they can help you find the most comfortable contacts for your kids. Upon your visit to our children’s eye care center, our eye doctors will perform an eye exam and recommend the best contact lenses depending on your child’s eye health, lifestyle, and preferences. We may also offer preventive care for myopia, cataracts, and other eye conditions.
Need Help Finding The Right Contact Lenses For Your Child?
At Inner Harbour Optometry, we have successfully helped our patients in Victoria and the surrounding areas maintain their eye health. Whether you need help treating a debilitating eye condition like cataracts, getting preventative care advice, or finding the right contacts for myopia, our experienced optometrists will help you. Are you looking for an eye doctor near me? Contact us to book an appointment with our optometrist.