Back to School with New Pair of Contact Lenses: Safety Check for Everyone.

As the new semester begins, students are back to school with fresh supplies from sports physicals to stationery & a new eye exam. Teens around the globe find it more convenient to wear contact lenses than glasses as contact-lenses don’t hurt their appearance. School students resist wearing glasses because of the fear of being ridiculed. As per experts; contact lenses are more handy & cost-effective than the other counterpart i.e. glasses. Rejoining school brings lots of excitement from meeting friends to sharing lunch & exchanging the goods with each other. This is the point, where parents & teachers must come-forward to reinforce that contact lenses should never be a part of the game.

Though contact lenses come with their own reservations; they are the most acceptable mode for vision correction. Anyone can wear circle contacts irrespective of the age bracket they fall in. Doctors suggest kids over 8 years can safely wear them. As a food for thought; age actually has nothing to do with wearing contact lenses. If a person is mature & “responsible” enough to take diligent care of contacts; they can safely wear circle lenses. It is said that teens are considered far more responsible in cleaning & disinfecting their contacts than adults. Adults become more casual with their contacts and take the entire regimen for granted whereas young newbies are more concerned & careful about the things they have been freshly introduced to. Unfortunately, teens love to share & swap everything. This is why, as they rejoin the school; they must be reminded about contact lenses’ safety considerations. Contact lenses are personal medical devices even if they are not prescription. They should never be shared, swapped or resold once they are used.

Also Read: What is Cheaper: Contact Lenses or Glasses?

Contact lenses are favored by students as they allow better peripheral vision, management with the changing weather & liberty to mobilize. Furthermore, they are cheaper than glasses even if you purchase them with the option of premium features such as UV intercepting contacts or hydrogel that ensure maximum oxygen transmission. Above all; with daily disposable lenses you can cut the cost dramatically to only $1 per day without having to take care of them. Go back to school with a fresh pair of contact lenses; just be considerate enough to prove yourself a responsible & mature student!

Contact Lenses could have Saved Irish Boy from Rugby Termination

By an unfortunate strike of fate, a 7 year old boy was ceased to play rugby because of the sports goggles he wears. Ryan Totten, from Colerane in county Antrim has already played rugby for his home town for 3 years. According to the experts, contact lenses could have saved him from exclusion.

According to the reports, Ryan wears sport goggles that meet EU & British safety standards to improve his vision. However, sadly, as per the IRFU rules (Irish Rugby Footbal Union) he was asked to leave the pitch due to his eyewear that bans players to continue participating in the contest. Current IRFU rules state: “In the interest of safety (of the player wearing the goggles and other players) and best practice, the wearing of glasses or goggles when participating in the contact format of rugby cannot be allowed.” The ban has left the boy embarrassed, upset & disappointed.

While the fact is unclear, what prevented the young sportsman to switch to contact lenses; optometrist & chairman of BBR Optometry, Nicholas Rumney stated that contact lenses could have been a better option. Commenting on BBC report that suggests that Ryan is too young to wear contact lenses, he explained that there is no global consensus on when to initiate contact lens wear. “There are no such age barriers”; he emphasized.

President of the British Contact Lens Association, Brian Tompkins, added: “While I’m not familiar with Ryan’s specific eye care needs, a child of his age should be able to wear contact lenses. I actually had two seven-year-olds in practice today for a contact lens review.”

Also Read: What is the Right Age for Children to Switch to Contact Lenses?

Totten- the school boy pleas IRFU to change its stance because the forced prevention from playing Rugby for something he was made by God has left him broken & immensely sad.

Mr Tompkins told OT: “Any parent interested in getting contact lenses for their child, should speak to their eye care practitioner, who will be able to advise them if lenses are suitable for their child and if so, fit the appropriate lens."

Unless your child is a patient of critical eye disorders that render contact lenses incompatible, you can safely let your child wear prescription contact lenses. Don’t let the vision problems take young dreams away. 

Benefits of Corrective Contact Lenses for Tweens & Teens

A Teen wearing contact lenses

Contact lenses provider greater value and benefit than glasses for vision correction. Contact lenses for children have been a hot topic of debate among eye care practitioners. However, with breakthrough advancements in technology, eye care professionals now practically prefer contacts over glasses. Vision correction contacts are fitted to the children at the average age of 13, depending on their abilities of wearing & handling them. The various benefits provided by prescription contact lenses cannot be covered in a single write-up. Few of them are given below:

According to British Contact Lens Association, children adapt to the new things more quickly than adults. 97% of 8-12 years old contact lens wearers say that they are satisfied with contact lenses. Whereas, 99% of 13-17 years contact lens wearers is happy with their choice. Contacts offer:

1. Better peripheral vision for sports and leisure activities where children can develop injuries due to glasses falling off or through breakage.
2. Complete vision correction particularly in children with astigmatism, squint and lazy eye
3. Improved appearance for sufferers of myopia and hyperopia.
4. Protection from UV exposure through UV contact lenses
5. Convenient up- gradation when the eye sight is currently changing in children.

Children of both age group notice significant improvements in their life styles through corrective contact lenses. Furthermore, a new way of treatment “Orthokerotoloy” helps slowdown the progression of myopia in children though night time contact lenses. According to researchers & eye care professionals, contact lenses help boost up self-confidence & self-esteem among children that lay long term positive impacts in the formation of child’s personality & character building. 

Also Read: Contact Lens Education for Children

Are Contact Lenses a Right Choice for your Kid?

It has been observed that kids are taunted & mocked at school for wearing glasses. This does not only hurt their self-esteem but also push the confidence down. Humiliation becomes a common practice & kids are often labeled as “four-eyed, Poindexter, Nerd” etc. Though ditching glasses for contact lenses is better in many perspectives; certain important points should be taken into consideration before introducing your kid to circle contact lenses.

Problems that Kids Face whilst Wearing Glasses/Specs

Thinkstock

1. It is difficult for a kid to take care of glasses. They keep breaking frames, losing them or simply keep having an annoying uncomfortable feel. Specs can be dangerous if the kid while playing falls off & break the lenses. The particles of glasses might injure & get into eyes accidentally.
2. Glasses sit on the bridge of the nose whereas contact lenses float directly over the surface. This is why circle lenses offer better vision correction than the specs. Furthermore, circle lenses allow crisp peripheral vision which definitely is not possible with glasses.
3. Glasses get hazy and cloudy as the weather shifts from dry to cold, foggy or rainy. This makes young kids vulnerable to accidents and unfortunate happenings especially whilst crossing the roads & when travelling. Circle lenses on the other hand do not get affected by the meteorological changes only unless the weather becomes gross suddenly.

At What Age should a Kid be introduced to Circle Lenses?

There is a vague opinion on this among eye doctors. Some think that tweens (children under 10-12) can be fearlessly introduced to circle lenses whereas some opine that it is safe for kids to wear circle lenses once they enter the teen age.

Other than the age there are other factors parents must consider before taking circle lenses plunge for their child. Mental maturity, hygiene practices & child’s own motivation & urge for circle lenses matter the most.

Replacing glasses with circle lenses help boost the confidence of your child. It does not only feed the urge of looking beautiful but also add loads of convenience to the life of your kid. He would love the change as he does not need to fidget with his nerdy glasses every time he bends down or jump for a ball throw!

Are Circle Contact Lenses Safe for Children? What is the Right Age?

Circle contact lenses are not FDA approved in United States. However it is perfectly legal to buy circle contact lenses from an online retailer based in another country. Today; circle lenses have much more to offer than they had back a decade.Circle contact lenses are now available in prescription. Even children are no more reluctant to give them a try as they find benefits in wearing circle contact lenses than wearing conventional eye glasses.

At what Age should a Child be given Circle Contact Lenses?

Circle contact lenses are safe for children depending upon the following factors.

1. Maturity Level: Is he mature enough to understand his responsibilities? Does he finish his home-work on his own? Does he take things seriously or is he simply a careless brat?
2. Calendar Age: Though many doctors around the world are convinced that age has little to do with the maturity of a child, it is simply impossible to completely ignore the age. A child need to be meticulous about circle contact lens’ safety, wear & risks involved. According to the doctors the right age of introducing circle contact lenses to a child should be no less than 13 years.

Circle Contact Lenses for Children: Safe or Harmful?

When your child starts pushing you for getting him a pair of circle contact lenses, you should immediately get concerned if he is suffering from vision problems. Get him checked for a prescription.

1. Kids prefer circle contact lenses over glasses because they fear being mocked for by their peer-group at school. Parents also consider it an opportunity if their child has an inclination towards circle contact lenses because small kids are more prone to breaking the delicate frames of glasses over & over again.
2. Circle contact lenses have their own pros and cons. Circle lenses directly float on eyes whereas glasses sit at the nose posing no risks of direct abrasions to cornea. However circle lenses have many benefits over glasses.
3. Circle contact lenses should not be worn more than 6 hours. In early months a child must not wear circle lenses for more than 3 hours.

Circle contact lenses are as safe for children as they are for adults. Children can even wear novelty circle contact lenses if they are mature enough. Train your child and educate him about circle contact lenses, wear, care & maintenance.

“How to Educate your Child about Wearing Circle & Colored Contact Lenses”

All you need to worry about before letting your child buy circle lenses is to find a reputable supplier of circle lenses. If unfortunately; you get counterfeit circle lenses online the entire story will be presenting horrific & terrifying end results. Being warned is being armed. Therefore, buy only branded ISO, KFDA and medically certified circle contact lenses hereto save your child eyes & vision forever.