COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Children ages 8 to 12 are just as adept as teenagers at handling and wearing contact lenses, finds a U.S. study.
"Optometrists traditionally don't prescribe contact lenses to children until they are at least 12 years old," says Jeffrey Walline of Ohio State University. "But we found that younger children are just as responsible with their lenses."
Walline and colleagues studied 169 children and teenagers who participated in the Contact Lens in Pediatrics study, which compared contact-lens wear in children 8 to 12 with teens 13 to 17. None of the children or teens in the current study had worn contact lenses prior to the research.
The children in each group were given a three-month supply of disposable soft contact lenses and later asked questions relating to the experience.
"Children and teens reported that it was much easier to engage in sports, dancing and other activities while wearing contact lenses," said Walline.
However, vanity doesn't seem to be a factor in children's or teens' satisfaction with switching to contact lenses, according to the findings presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Optometry.
