Willingness is the key to a successful transition to contacts.
So, this week we took the plunge – my daughter got contact lenses. As an athlete this makes life so much easier, no steamed up goggles, no uncomfortable straps, just a finger in the eye every now and then. At least this is the plan.
Straight from soccer Dr. Tang explains how contacts work.
For a young athlete, clearer vision can increase performance.
We went with the most straightforward solution – SofLens® daily disposable contact lenses from Bausch + Lomb. But first she had to learn how to put them in and remove them herself. At her first appointment Dr. Tang took her through the process and had her practice. It was tough. I’ll admit, there were a few tears of frustration and some red eyes but she did it! And she has since worn her contacts 3 times. She is able to get them out no problem and put one side in with some effort. We are still working on getting the second side in on her own.
Here is my daughter practicing. It can be frustrating!
We spent about an hour and a half at the doctor’s office and an hour of that was practicing putting the contacts in and removing them. Most doctors will not prescribe lenses to a tween or teen until they can prove that they can be independent and responsible with them. We need to go back in a week or two and show the doctor that she can remember the routine from washing hands to the process of using the lenses.
She’s got her new Bausch + Lomb daily wear lenses and her contact solution (plus a lollipop from the doc). She’s ready to go!
Would you consider contact lenses for your child? What age do you think is the “right” age to start?
This blog post is sponsored by Bausch and Lomb. All opinions and experiences are my own.
So grown up! This is pretty impressive. Definitely I’d consider it for my child…I’ve been wearing contacts for years myself.
don’t know if “age” is a worthwhile term, “maturity” is better, i think! and i think your daughter probably has that in spades 🙂 don’t know if this helps her or not, but don’t worry about using your other hand to put in contacts. i’m right handed so here’s how i do it…
standing in front of the mirror, i put the contact on my right index finger and use my right middle finger to pull down my lower lid. then i i turn my head back towards my right shoulder while still looking forwards. i put the lens on the white part of my eye and then turn my head back towards the mirror (always looking forward), letting my eye put the contact in the right place instead of using my finger to touch my eye.
i found that with contacts and eyedrops, too, that you don’t clamp your eye shut as much because you aren’t touching your iris. it’s just an involuntary action for the eye to shut when it sees something coming so (in my totally non medical opinion) i think it gives you an extra second when you’re ‘playing around’ with the white part.
she’s going to love playing sports with her contacts!
Great tips, Julie. Thank you!