There is no age limit: babies can wear them, and so can seniors. Many eyecare professionals begin to encourage contact lens wear at age 11 to 14.
The real issue for teens is not age, but whether they are responsible enough to wear and care for contact lenses properly. Parents, teens, and their
eyecare practitioner must make this decision together.
Why not just wear eyeglasses?
Teens are self-conscious, and they often feel more attractive and accepted if they don't have a pair of eyeglasses in front of their
eyes. Contact lenses may help teens feel greater self-esteem and more at ease around others.
They're also an advantage for active teens who play sports.
Wearing contact lenses can help teenagers feel more self-confident about their appearance.
How much care do contact lenses require?
Cleaning regimens are easier than ever. Most people use
just one bottle of multi-purpose solution and a case. Of course, one type of contact lens —
daily disposable — doesn't need a cleaning regimen, because the lenses are
tossed in the trash at the end of each day. For this reason, daily disposable
contacts are a great vision correction option for most teens.
For contacts that do require care, many eyecare practitioners report that
teens and children are more diligent about cleaning their contact lenses than
are adults, who after years of wearing them often become more casual about lens
care. And young people are more careful about following directions given them by
a medical professional.
Yes. The Food and Drug Administration classifies contact lenses as a medical device. Contacts must fit properly on the eye — if they don't,
serious eye health issues can result. That's why they must be fitted by an eyecare practitioner, who will write a prescription for the proper size, shape,
power, and brand of lenses.
By law, you need a prescription in order to purchase contact lenses. This is
true even if your contacts have no vision correction in them, such as some color
contacts or special-effect contacts.
A contact lens fitting is painless and takes very little time. It can be done in conjunction with a regular eye exam.
Are contact lenses more or less expensive than glasses?
It's impossible to generalize about cost. As with eyeglasses,
the cost of contact lenses varies widely, depending on the brand, the prescription, and how often the lenses are replaced.
You can always call your eyecare practitioner and ask for a price range. You should also take into account the cost of cleaning supplies and
cases, plus the fact that a backup pair of eyeglasses is recommended.
Daily disposable contacts are a special case, because they don't require any
cleaning supplies or containers. It depends on the brand and the supplier, but
daily disposables usually cost about $1 per day, making them affordable for most people.
What if a lens gets lost or torn?
Make sure you discuss with your eye doctor what you can do to replace a contact lens that has been torn, damaged or lost.
If you wear disposable contacts, you don't have the expense or inconvenience of worrying about a replacement because
you'll already have a supply of lenses on hand.
With daily disposable contacts, parents can be sure that their teens have clean lenses on their eyes every morning.
Are contacts comfortable?
Modern contact lenses are designed to be very comfortable. Most are made of a soft material that is hardly noticeable, if at all, once
the lenses are placed on the eyes. Eyecare practitioners have very sophisticated tools for measuring the eyes and making sure the lenses fit well.
Contacts can become uncomfortable over time if they accumulate dirt or allergens that stick to the
them. Proper care and cleaning normally prevents this. Of
course, this is not a concern with daily disposables such as
Proclear 1 Day
or ClearSight 1 Day
because any accumulated allergens or other lens deposits are discarded with the lens each night.
Is it difficult to put contact lenses on?
Some people wonder if it will hurt to apply contact lenses to their eyes for
the first time. The fear is understandable, and it's related to the reluctance
they may have to touch their eyes. But after learning how to insert and remove
their lenses, most people find it completely painless, and quite easy to do.
Are contact lenses safe?
For teens, contact lenses may be safer than eyeglasses in many situations. Unlike glasses, they are unlikely to be damaged
during football, basketball, and other rough sports. Plus, if a sport requires safety goggles or a ski mask, it is more convenient and comfortable to wear them over contact
lenses than over eyeglasses.
Otherwise, contact lenses are very safe if cared for properly. Your teen
shouldn't swap lenses with friends or wear them longer than prescribed, and
regular eye exams are important. Remember: if at any time your eyes don't look good, feel good
or see well — see your doctor.
Can a contact lens get stuck behind the eye?
A natural membrane barrier exists between the front and the back of the eye. That could never, ever happen.
Color contact lenses now offer natural-looking eye color change. They come in daily disposable form, too!
What about color and special effect contact lenses?
These lenses are fun and safe as long as they are properly fitted and
prescribed by an eyecare practitioner. Never buy them at a beauty parlor, swap
meet, or at any store or online without a prescription. Any retailer who tries
to sell you lenses in that way is operating outside of the law and doesn't care
about the safety of your eyes.
Remember that if cosmetic contacts are worn only occasionally, they need to be
properly stored and disinfected between wearing.
Is it OK try on a friend's contact lenses?
No, not even if the lenses have no vision correction in them. Dangerous
microorganisms that cause serious eye infections can be passed along that way.
Most doctors will provide a free trial pair so your teen can see how lenses feel
or look.
Is it okay to sleep in contacts?
Not all contact lenses are designed for overnight wear. Further, not
everyone's eyes can adapt to this, even when using the proper lenses. Only an
eye care practitioner can judge whether someone is a candidate to sleep in
contacts, and no one should sleep with their lenses in unless their eyecare
practitioner says it's okay.
In addition, overnight wear also creates a small degree of increased health
risk. The healthiest way to wear contacts is to remove and discard them each
night.
What are the different types of contact lenses?
Contact lenses can be grouped together based on several characteristics:
Lens material - either soft or gas permeable (also called RGPs)
Wear schedule - that is, whether you take them out to sleep.
Lenses can be FDA approved for either daily wear or extended (overnight) wear.
Replacement schedule, or how often you dispose of them and begin
wearing
a fresh pair. Disposable lenses are most popular and are replaced every
one or two weeks. Daily disposables are discarded each day and require no care,
making them a healthy and
hassle-free option for teens.
In addition to the above, lenses come in colors and in designs for people who need bifocals, or have astigmatism.
Caught napping? No-care daily disposable contacts can be discarded before sleep, with a clean, new pair inserted after wakening.
How do I decide on the right lenses?
Your doctor can help you decide which combination of features is right for your
teen. In addition to your teen's preferences, the doctor will evaluate his or
her eye structure, tears, and visual acuity to determine what lenses will be
healthy and comfortable.
If you have astigmatism or a strong prescription, don't you have to wear glasses instead?
Not any more! That may have been true years ago, but now contact lenses are manufactured in designs that work for
nearly everyone, including people with astigmatism. By the way, contact lenses designed for astigmatism are called torics,
and they are available as disposables. [Learn about CooperVision's
contacts for astigmastism.]
Is LASIK a better option for teens than contact lenses?
LASIK is not an option for teenagers. The Food and Drug Administration has
set the minimum age for laser vision correction at 18 (or 21 for some procedures). One big
reason is that teens' eyes may still be changing from one year to the next. For example, during high school and college years, nearsightedness may worsen a bit each year, until
the eyes "settle" into a somewhat final prescription around the mid-20s. When the eyes are changing so rapidly, it doesn't make sense to perform LASIK on them, because the
effect of the surgery will not last.
What if contact lenses just don't work out?
Sometimes parents let their teen wear them for a trial period, so they can prove they are ready for the responsibility. If it doesn't work out, the teen can always go back to wearing
glasses and re-try contact lenses later on.
Part-time wear is also an option, and daily disposables are especially good
for this.
Be ready to spend an hour or more at the eyecare practitioner's office.
A contact lens fitting is usually performed as part of a complete eye exam. So there will likely be a series of tests for all kinds of things, such as depth perception,
near and distance vision, and glaucoma. If you don't know an eyecare practitioner in your area,
you can
use this list of practitioners who fit CooperVision products.
Bring sunglasses.
The eyecare practitioner may put in drops to dilate the pupils; this is so he can see the inner structures of the eye to check for diseases or other problems.
After dilation, the eyes may be sensitive to light for a few hours.
Bring a list of questions and ask all of them.
This is your chance to take advantage of your eyecare practitioner's expertise! He will be happy to answer all your questions, so don't hold back, even if you think
some of your questions may be trivial.
Understand that eyeglasses may be the best option for the time being.
Once in a while an eyecare practitioner may feel that a teen isn't ready for contact lenses. Or contacts may not be right for someone's particular prescription or lifestyle. Even
if contact lenses are not the best option for now, they may be in a year or so.
This guide is sponsored by CooperVision, manufacturer of the Proclear® 1 Day and ClearSight™ 1 Day
brands of daily disposable contact lenses.
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250 million people worldwide are blind or visually impaired simply because they don't have access to an eye exam and a pair of glasses. Learn how you can help.
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