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Minimum age for wearing contact lenses
Eyeglasses can be worn from an early age when a visual problem is detected.
However, contact lenses are a different kind of visual equipment and require different parameters.
Thus, it is questionable whether lenses can be worn from childhood and what are the determining criteria beyond age.
Can children wear contact lenses?
Contact lenses are a fragile piece of visual equipment that sits directly on the surface of the eye.
Thus, the question arises whether they are compatible with early childhood.
In fact, there is no official fixed age at which an individual can wear contact lenses.
Thus, in some cases, very young children may wear lenses, particularly to correct certain eye conditions.
A malformation of the iris, nystagmus or albinism may be among the reasons for early contact lens wear.
Apart from these special cases, contact lenses for conventional use are rarely worn before the age of seven.
The reason for this is that the handling of insertion and removal and the care of the lenses usually require an older age.
Opticians even recommend waiting until the age of twelve before wearing contact lenses.
Indeed, professionals believe that before this age, the risks involved exceed the benefits that can be obtained.
Requirements for wearing contact lenses
Since there is no officially recognised minimum age, the ability to wear lenses must be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Medically speaking, only the ophthalmologist can assess whether or not the child needs to wear contact lenses.
With the exception of the above-mentioned pathological cases, the eye doctor generally prefers the wearing of glasses for younger children.
Furthermore, in the case of conventional eyewear, the choice will also be made by the parents according to their child's personality.
Wearing contact lenses requires certain skills and maturity that are not necessarily age dependent.
The child must be able to take good care of his or her pair of lenses, by looking after them properly.
They should also be able to insert and remove their contact lenses without any particular apprehension.
From this perspective, some ten-year-olds may be more suitable than some teenagers, depending on their personality.
Do not hesitate to ask your Optical Center optician for advice on whether your child should wear contact lenses.
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