Making contact :
Kids and contact lenses
by Walter Franczyk
With Harry Potter ’ s meteoric popularity waning , youngsters may not be so enamoured of the bespectacled look made fashionable by their storybook hero . Harry made it cool to wear eye glasses . At the height of his fame , some adolescents are said to have faked poor eyesight in attempting to get glasses and join the in-crowd . If that bookish look grows of style , there are options to help keep young people looking good while seeing well .
First invented more than 125 years ago , contact lenses became popular in the early 1970s when Bausch & Lomb introduced soft contact lenses . Vistakon , a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson , brought out its disposable Acuvue contact lenses in 1986 . Technological advances have spurred ever more people , including children , to use them .
“ Kids are starting to wear contact lenses at eight , nine and 10 years old ,” says Bausch & Lomb professional relations manager Denise Lougheed . Contact lenses can boost the selfesteem of children who don ’ t want to wear glasses , she says . Active youngsters can also benefit . “ In order to play some sports , it ’ s easier if you wear contact lenses , especially daily disposable lenses ,” says Lougheed . “ The worst thing would be playing soccer with glasses and getting hit in the head with a ball .” It ’ s also easier to get a hockey helmet over your head if you ’ re wearing contact lenses , she says . Contacts offer better peripheral vision than glasses . They don ’ t fog up or collect rain or snow .
With so many parents wearing contact lenses these days , it ’ s easier for them to consider contact lenses for their children , Lougheed says . But the ultimate decision should be made with an eye care professional who can help gauge a youngster ’ s maturity and ability to care for contact lenses . Lougheed recommends daily disposable contact lenses for children and teens .
“ They don ’ t have to worry about any cleaning . They put the lenses in in the morning . At the end of the day , they take them out and throw them away ,” she says .
24 OPTICAL PRISM | JULY / AUGUST 2013