Does anyone's child wear contact lenses?

[Salesinjune]

If so how do they find them? Are they happy wearing them? Have there been any trouble? Also what age did they start using them?

I am considering these for my child but just wamt to find out a but more about them.

Thanks in advance.

If you wear disposables you can swim in then according to my optician. Just change them when you get out.

Tbh I have always worn mine swimming and in the shower and I have monthlies. I know it is a risk.

My DD13 and DD16 both decided they wanted contacts 2 years ago when 11 and 14. DD13 chickened out and decided she didn’t want to put anything on her eyeball. DD16 got the hang of it straight away, wore them diligently for about a month then couldn’t be bothered most of the time, wasted money for a few months before cancelling them. She isn’t great at sticking with routines, even with a lot of prompting, and often doesn’t bother with her glasses. Her eyes aren’t too bad though and prescription has actually improved.

DD13, almost 14, has had myopia glasses for 2.5 years and wears them all the time, except in bed. They appear to have significantly slowed the progression and her last few reviews there has been no further progression. She has normal prescription sunglasses, and goggles for swimming.

I may be remembering wrong but I think out optician told me they can’t drive in the myopia management ones. Obviously I unhelpfully can’t remember why !
I am slightly over enthusiastic about them switching to normal ones as we are a family context lens wearers so the combined cost is over £150 a month now.

DD1 has myopia and has been in myopia management contacts since aged 6.5, at the optometrist's recommendation. Nowadays you can get myopia management glasses but they weren't licensed in the UK then so it was try the lenses or just allow her myopia to progress unmanaged. They are daily disposables and so it's really easy.

For the first year we put them in for her (but she could always get them out herself). After that she learned to put them in herself. There have been no issues with using them other than at first when it was a learning curve to get her used to the sensation of putting it in, but she now gets them in in less than a minute in the mornings. She didn't enjoy the lenses at first, but now she likes them as she is sporty and doesn't have to worry about a ball smashing into her glasses.

It's hard to know what difference they make as they can't stop myopia progression completely, only flatten the curve, but judging by how fast her myopia was developing before we started on the lenses and how fast it is developing now, it seems like she would be a lot more myopic had we not used them. If a child is diagnosed as myopic young, the biggest rate of myopia development is between aged 6 and 12, and she is now 11.

Another option is the night-time ortho-k lenses, which apparently slow myopia and also mean you have nothing in your eyes during the day at all. But they are monthly not daily lenses and you sleep in them, so you have to be a lot more confident that they will observe hygiene and storage really well.

This has reminded me that DS struggled more than DD ( he was 10!) and for a while I put them in for him. He used both hands to hold his eye firmly open and I could then easily place them in for him.
once they get used to them going in each day it gets easier very quickly as the blink reaction reduces making it less of a challenge!
He could remove them himself easily from day one.
I do acknowledge we had a much easier time as both DH and I have worn lenses for ever ! ( I got mine at around 14 and it was truly life changing as an awkward teen )
If he is willing to I would suggest trying different methods and go back to a different optician for some more ideas- the lens will position itself when he blinks so it doesn’t need to be perfect and it’s easier if he doesn’t overthink it.
Good luck it’s well worth it especially if your DS plays sport .

My DC are around -4 and -5 respectively.
Not surprisingly as DH and I are similar!

@sleepylittlebunnies
Is your DD16 also shortsighted?

@Salesinjune she is short sighted but very mild, just checked her prescription and it was her astigmatism that has slightly improved. DS18 is also myopic, but again very mild. He is good with wearing his glasses as he gets double vision and has prisms built into the lenses, unfortunately his college course is computer based, as is his social life which doesn’t help. Neither DH or I ever needed glasses in childhood, but our siblings did as do nearly all DN’s.

My optician said same she said to my kids never ever swim in river water etc in lenses but a swimming pool she wasn’t worried about with the advice to remove the lenses after ( and they are then disposed of) they wear goggles too.

At least 12 hours a day every day, maybe only half an hour to a hour lens free time?
When she was younger though there would usually be day off a week due to not being able to get them in, or swimming or sleepover.

@blueskyview
What age was she then please if you dont mind me asking and what prescription strength was she when she wouldn't wear them for sleepover? Was she able to see ok? I am trying to remain positive but I feel really sad.

I have only just found out that she has myopia. I had never even heard of it before.

Does in affect their lives much?

8 when she got them and was not confident to take them out at sleepovers by herself or in again in the morning…I’m not sure of the prescription maybe -2.00? So she wore glasses instead when she went to sleepovers or swimming.
Having myopia (being short sighted) is very common it is not a sad thing really, thought I realise if you have great eyesight yourself you might feel differently!

My daughter started at about 14 years old. The myopia control lenses. He is not too young and I think they have slowed down her myopia. She also has the myopia control glasses too. I personally think its worth giving it a try.

My daughter started wearing them at the start of the summer holidays last year aged 12. She got picked on in year 7 because of her glasses (thanks a fucking bunch, twatty boys). She only wears them to school but gets on fine with them but she had to have about 4 visits to Specsavers to see if she could put them in

My daughter's eyesight is very bad, -2.5 and astigmatism. She's very conscious of taking them out as soon as she gets home so she doesn't end up sleeping or showering in them

My daughter has -2.0 prescription. Her eyesight deteriorated quickly over a couple of years and was a shock and I can understand you feeling sad.
my daughter wears the special myopia lenses - tried to get her to wear the contact lease but she isn’t keen. What prescription is your child’s?