Conversations in practice: how to help young patients adapt to contact lenses

Good communication when working with younger patients comes from both a sound understanding of their eye health needs and an enthusiasm for the service you’re delivering. It’s about listening and learning from the patient, and having fun. Young people are sometimes challenging but can be very rewarding to work with – do it well and you could be their eye care practitioner for life.

Research suggests that children enjoy their experience of contact lenses too. Among those aged 10-17 years using contact lenses, almost all say they like wearing them (93 per cent) and feel better about their ability to participate in sport when wearing their contact lenses (88 per cent).1 A similar proportion say they feel more confident (86 per cent) when wearing contact lenses rather than glasses.1