Data released earlier this month by Professor Phil Morgan at the University of Manchester, showing that the average age of contact lens fitting in the UK is on the up, carries a mixed message.
On one hand it’s possibly good news that we are finally acceding to the fact that we have multifocal contact lenses that work, so the new fit age is gradually rising. Brilliant.
However, if the average age is going up it means that we are not shaking off the shackles of medieval thinking that we shouldn’t fit contact lenses to kids, after all they can’t look after them properly and they are at a higher risk of serious infections, and we don’t want to be blamed for that do we?
It’s far too risky and it takes longer. Or is it and does it?
Contact lenses are a fantastic way for any person, young or old, to see and we, as a profession, shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that contact lenses can be 'life changing' for these individuals (The very words of a 70-year-old neophyte patient of mine).
Several studies show that kids have improved self-esteem and quality of life through wearing lenses and we all should be aware of how much easier playing sport is with contact lenses.
Mark Bullimore published a meta analysis last year on the safety of soft contact lenses in children and the conclusion was that the incidence of corneal infiltrative events is no higher than in adults and in fact there is an age group of eight to 11-years-old where the risk is markedly lower.
It’s about time the myths surrounding fitting kids with contact lenses were dismissed and we as a profession looked at providing all of our patients with the best correction for their needs, including contact lenses.