Contact lenses: at what age are they safe to use?

29/12/2015

I have an 11-year-old son who is shortsighted. Now, for precticing sports, he has asked me if he can use contact lenses. How old does he have to be to use them? What kind of lens do you recommend?

Age is not a determining factor in the use of contact lenses (CL). Depending on the refractive defect to be compensated, the patient may have to use them since a baby. When it comes to low or medium shortsightedness, without pathological complications, we try to make patients (children) awarre about the need to combine the use of CL with their glasses. In the case of your son, it looks like you are clear about initially having to use them for sports. To get started using contact lenses, trying to reduce the range of associated problems and patient responsibilities in terms of handling and cleaning, we usually recommend single use, soft CL.

Of course, each case is treated individually and it should be confirmed that the patient's eye allows the use of the lens we want to adopt, since not everyone can wear contact lenses. Beyond the importance of age, it is important to consider how involved the family are. The protection that parents can exert on their children is essential in the early months. They must be who accompanies by eyecare professionals.

We will then have to conduct more or less frequent, regular check-ups, which confirm the possibility to continue using said optical compensation.

Eloy Rodríguez Optometrist Technician