News-Record.com

GREENSBORO - Is your 8-year-old ready for contact lenses?

A division of medical giant Johnson & Johnson thinks so and wants to make contact-lens use more widespread among children that age.

Some local eye doctors say that isn't necessarily bad - it just depends on how responsible the child is.

The division, Vistakon, commissioned a study that found essentially no difference between children and teens in problems associated with contact-lens wear and how well subjects followed instructions for wearing the lenses.

The two groups also reported similar increases in self-esteem from wearing contacts.

It is not clear whether any study not funded by the industry has been carried out.

Age alone isn't the issue, says Dr. William Young, a Greensboro pediatric ophthalmologist.

"There's no medical lower limit on when you can do contact lenses," he says. "We take cataracts out of newborn babies' eyes when they need it and put contact lenses in at a few weeks of age."

Optometrist Dr. Jon Scott says some eye conditions, such as amblyopia - "lazy eye" - often may be better corrected with contacts than glasses, even in young patients.

"It is right for the right patient but not for everybody," Scott says.

The main issue, Young says, is how likely the patient is to follow recommendations for use and care of the lenses - and to understand that failure to do so can cause permanent vision damage.

"My daughter went in (for contacts) at 9. My son went in at 12," Young said. "My daughter, frankly, did better at 9 than my son did at 12. It just depends so much on the individual kid."

Greensboro optometrist Dr. Keisha Smith says she would give contacts to an 8-year-old if the child's parent believes the child is responsible enough to have them.

Why would kids want contacts? Smith says the most common reason among her patients is participation in sports. Another optometrist, Dr. Steven Bernstorf, says the most common reason among his patients is that they think they will look better with contacts than with glasses.

He, too, says patients must follow the doctor's orders for lens care.

"It's not unusual for me to have to treat a corneal ulcer from contact lens abuse," he says. "If the doctor says throw the lens away after two weeks, (the patient must) throw it away after two weeks."

And adults have no monopoly on good contact-lens practices, Bernstorf says. He sees more problems among adults ages 18 to 50 - "and it's almost always the patient who wouldn't be caught dead in public with glasses on."

Contact Lex Alexander at 373-7088 or lex.alexander@news-record.com