Contact lenses for children and teens

Post on 27th August 2015

We usually associate contact lenses with adults, but there is growing evidence that children could be cured of short-sightedness (myopia) by wearing soft lenses at night.

A recent study of 300 children showed that the lenses can stop the eye becoming misshapen which leads to myopia.

The practice is known as Orthokeratology corrects your vision as you sleep. Lenses such as Dreamvision, which are available exclusively at Scrivens Opticians & Hearing Care, are ideal for both adults and children alike.

Scrivens optometrist Paul Sidhu said: “There are many reasons that contact lenses are suitable for children. Not only do they help promote an active lifestyle but they can slow down and even reverse the effects of myopia.”

The cornea is highly elastic and Dreamvision lenses mould the cornea into the correct shape. However, it always returns to its original shape. For this reason   Dreamvision lenses are worn every night and removed in the morning to give clear vision throughout the day. In children, if Dreamvision lenses are worn regularly, the cornea can be trained to stay in its correct shape, leading to a slowdown of the condition

There are plenty of children who could be benefitting from contact lenses such as Dreamvision. Nearly one in five children aged five to 15 years, rising to almost one in three 16-19 year olds need vision correction. However, only one in 12 who could wear and benefit from contact lenses currently do so.

The advantages of contact lenses teens and children include:

  1. Better vision for sports and leisure activities where children often remove their glasses for fear of breaking them
  2. Avoid frequent breakages of glasses
  3. Full time vision correction – particularly important in children with squint, astigmatism and poor vision in one eye to ensure the eyes work properly together and to avoid a ‘lazy eye’
  4. Easily updated when eyesight is changing frequently

To find out more about Dreamvision or to book an eye check appointment visit the Scrivens home page.