Are Contact Lenses Right for Your Baby?

Many of us have a perception of contact lenses as a more superficial way to treat vision impairments than glasses. As such, many people think of contact lenses as something that kids need to “grow into” or as an option that people shouldn’t have until they are adults. Unfortunately, problems with vision and the eyes can happen as soon as birth, so it is important to pick the best treatment available – which may mean contact lenses for your baby.

You wouldn’t deny surgery if your baby was diagnosed with kids’ eye cancer and the doctor recommended it. In the same vein, don’t be quick to shoot down the idea of contacts for your baby. The following are a few things that you should know about contact lenses and babies if your doctor has recently recommended them to treat congenital cataracts or other problems with vision.

Contact Lenses Are Sometimes Easier

Believe it or not, contact lenses are sometimes easier to deal with than glasses when it comes to correcting vision impairments in babies. Babies can pull glasses off and injure their faces or break the glasses. With contact lenses there are no such worries, although applying them may take some getting used to. Like any part of caring for your new baby, applying the contact lenses will become easier as it is done more often.

Contacts May Delay Nearsightedness Progression

In some studies, contact lenses helped to slow the grow of the eye and prevent nearsightedness from worsening. This will only work with specifically designed contact lenses, but may help you to protect your baby’s eyesight better. By starting with these contacts as early as possible, you may help your child to enjoy clearer vision throughout his or her lifetime.

Contact Lenses May Be Better for Development

Wearing contacts allows kids to see clearly in their peripheral vision and to enjoy a broader field of vision than glasses. Contact lenses also do not have some of the drawbacks that glasses may, such as depth perception distortion, magnification, and curvature. Additionally, doctors may be able to treat each eye separately and adjust for a stronger prescription that is needed in one eye over the other, which will allow your child to see more clearly.

All of these contact advantages can help your child to see as if his or her eyesight was not impaired. This may help your child to keep up with development milestones and feel more confident as he or she progresses through stages. After all, everything is a little easier when you can see clearly!