Corneal abrasions, ulcerations, conjunctivitis… Contact lenses account for 40% of all medical device associated injuries according to the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
These tiny translucent bits of wonder that help us see (I wear contact lenses, too) can also be an obvious pain in the neck (or shall I say – eye?). When your kid wears contact lenses, you know you’re signing up for extra care, and yet, according to the research published in Pediatrics, around 23% of records in emergency rooms departments (that’s annually) are due to contact lens injuries in children and teenagers. So, getting back to the original question, no, contact lenses are obviously not always safe for children.
What raises questions in this case is why nobody is mentioning that most of these happen due to improper use. Contact lenses, when used correctly (and that involves cleaning them, storing them in a clean case, visiting an eye-doctor every year, etc. – are not meant to cause injury. This brings us to a very important question: Is your child mature enough to wear contacts? Can him or her handle this responsibility?
This has nothing to do with age. Physically children can wear contact lenses at very early stages of their lives. In some particular cases even infants may be fitted with contact lenses.
The question is – can your kid handle the responsibility? This is easy to figure out if you know how your child handles responsibility in general. That’s what maturity is all about. Do you have to continuously nag your son or daughter to do stuff? Then maybe it’s not the right time for them to join the contact lens wearers’ club. Just motivation doesn’t cut it. They have to know they’re assuming responsibility and have to follow through with it. Only then will contact lenses be safe for your child!