Children and lenses

[Andrew MacLean]

Lynn

I once had an exchange with an optometrist. I went to see him when I found that I needed to stand directly under the strongest light in order to read the telephone directory.

He said I needed reading glasses.

"But", I objected, "I wear contact lenses"

"Oh well", said the bold optometrist, "what do you expect at your age?"

"A bit of civility from opticians!"

I was 36!

Andrew

[Lynn White]

OUCH!!!

[rosemary johnson]

Well, I'm relieved your sister says she isn't being bullied about her specs.
But I'll come back to: if she doesn't need to wear her specs, then she doesn't need contacts.
And when she doesn't *need* contacts, surely there are plenty of better things to do with the money than spend a lot of it on contact lenses she doesn't need?
Who is she expecting to pay for these putative lenses? Herself? (Really? she gets *that* much pocket money?!?!) Her dad? THe poor ol' British tax payer???

[I know what response I'd have got if I'd *wanted* to wear lenses rather than glasses, instead of having to so much they came free from the NHS because glasses were no good): "Don't be silly; where d'you think we'd get that sort of money from?" COme to that, I'd have been in terrible trouble if I'd not worn my glasses at school, even for parts of the day. But then, it apparently came as complete news to my dad, several years later when we were reminiscing about our school days, that kids who had to wear NHS glasses at school were even liable to being bullied! Need I say, my mum (who had this experience during the war....), my sister and I were not at all sympathetic to him!]
Rosemary

[Janet Manning]

Thanks Lynn, that's really interesting. Now I understand!

[Tina Sweetland]

I started to were Rigid lenses when I was 14 (my mum was fed up with me sitting on my glasses and breaking them) KC was diagnosed 5 years later....My oldest child is shortsighted and I was continually worrying about getting her checked for KC as she started to go through puberty. She wore glasses from the age of 6 and I booked her in for a contact lens consultation when she was 13 (nearly 2 years ago). I was hoping that they'd diagnose KC and that they would then try and fit a Rigid lens and that would put her off...however they advised no sign of KC and suggested monthly wear lenses. I take your point about cleaning them..but she's actually been really good. SHe did struggle putting them in, taking them out at first and kept wanting me to do this for her..I wouldn't as she needed to be able to master this..and the optitions gave her 2 weeks to practise....before then then checked her and permitted her to have them...do you remember those days....she may struggle and decide that glasses are easier...or if it is vanity..she'll do what we all do and perservere!!!...I hated my glasses at 13..so I understand what she's going through!

[Sweet]

Tina thanks for that, it was really helpful!

Yes i do remember playing with lenses and had terrible trouble with my left because it was too steep and i had loads of scarring. With the right though i used to get told off as i never built up the time slowly. It was so comfortable that the first day i had it, i put it in and wore it for the whole day!

I'm hoping that if my sister does have contacts that they will make sure that she can put them in properly as she lives with my dad and he is terrible with eyes and lenses! So there is no use her asking him to help! LOL! I live almost 300 miles away so i don't think that i could pop over to help her out either.

I'm still thinking on this and will see her in a few weeks to talk about it. You never know she might have even changed her mind by then!!

Sweet X x X

[Tina Sweetland]

Sweet

Good luck...mind you if the optitions are any good they will ensure that she is competent at putting them in (and taking tham out) before they prescribe them. I know with my own daughter they wouldn't prescribe them until she was able to put them in and take them oue 5 times in each eye....and my husband thought that she'd never do it..but I remembered being in that exact position and if she wants them badly enough she'll do it. And I must say that once she got her lenses..she did tear a few to start with..but within a few weeks was really good as dealing with them. I have never helped her...cruel...but she needed to do this for herself. Nowdays she even goes to the beach in them!..and remembers to take the solutions on sleepovers...mind you I did insist (at first) that she took her glasses with her as backup to school (you can imagine how positively that was received)...and occasionally she reverted to these..but these days...she hardly wears her glasses..and it's given her much more confidence...I think although she wasn't bullied she felt that she lost friends/didn't get noticed by boys because she was wearing glasses...and at that age it's important!