Purchasing contact lens for DD14

[NeedaVacation03]

My DD14 wants contact lens to start her freshman year. I know nothing about them. Please give me the Good, The Bad and the Ugly on contacts with teens. About how much should I plan on the cost for upkeep, maintence and teenage errors? Please tell me what I need to know before I say "YES" or "NO".

 

[jennilouwho]

My DD14 wants contact lens to start her freshman year. I know nothing about them. Please give me the Good, The Bad and the Ugly on contacts with teens. About how much should I plan on the cost for upkeep, maintence and teenage errors? Please tell me what I need to know before I say "YES" or "NO".

I had contacts around 13 and they didn't work out. I tried again at 17 and it went much better. However, I was given hard ones when I was 13 and soft at 17 and it made all the difference. Especially now that they make disposables, I think she would be fine to have them at 14, if she's a reasonably responsible teen. My biggest issue was losing them when I was trying to put them in. However, with the disposables, it's not such a horrible thing. Mine generally cost about $25-$30 a box and I need 2 boxes for each eye a year. I can go a month with them. Some can only go 2 weeks. I imagine you'll spend around $100-$200 a year on them. You could always order a box for each eye and tell her it's a trial run and if she does well them them, then you can keep ordering them for her. I much prefer my contacts to glasses, so I can understand why she wants them. They don't fog up in the winter, you can wear "normal" sunglasses, etc....

Also, I just ordered some contacts at Sam's Club for $15 a box less than they were on 1-800-contacts. If you have a membership there, you might save some $$$.

 

[J3nn78]

I wear daily disposables. I am thinking they might be good for a teen who may not take that great of care of longer wear lenses. I had to get these because I am super sensitive to contacts and these are the thinnest.
I use Focus Dailies

 

[My sister's princess]

I started with them in Highschool as well. My eye doctor didn't let me leave the office untill I had put them in and taken them out by myself twice. Make sure she understands how important it is to take them out and soak them EVERY night! I have a really bad habbit of riping them when I close the case at night (they get caught in between the case and the cap) so be ready for a few extra pairs. If she has long fingernails she will want to get rid of them before, they make it very hard to get the contacts in and out. Another thing to remember is anything that gets in your eyes feels like glass GLITTER is not your friend when you wear contacts

 

[NeedaVacation03]

thanks so much for the input. DD is very responsible, so I am not so worried about that. But she does have times when she loses things or breaks them by hurrying to get somewhere.
Can you tell me how much the daily wears would run? Can we order them from someplace other than the eye doctors office?

 

[here757]

my dh has the ones hes supposed to take out every 2 weeks... but he has been known to wear them for 6 months straight while on deployment LOL
the doc is always on his case about them..

 

[Feeln'Froggy]

My two kids DD11(responsible) DS14(not so much but, for sports thought it was time) got contacts last week. They are extended wear contacts (30 days). After insurance it will run us 110.00 each for six months. The Dr. did say the DD’s are a little more expensive because she has astigmatism.

They had a little class on care and the gross things that could happen if they don’t take care of them. They had to be able to take them out and back in several times before we could leave. If she takes her time she will do fine.

So far so good for mine!

 

[Disneymucks]

Well my daughter just turned 10 and has started wearing them. It has taken a few months to get the right pair. The first ones she was not comfortable with so we just told the DR. He switched them and this pair has been great. No problems. So don't give up if the first ones don't work out just keep working with the dr untill you find a pair that is comfortable.

 

[gottaluvdis]

DD11 got them when she was 9. She is very responsible, and after wearing glasses for a year, decided she wanted to try contacts. Since I've been wearing contacts myself for 24 years, I was very comfortable having her try them. Her Dr. was very supportive. She took the "class" with a couple of older teens who had more trouble than she did. I oversee her to some degree. I keep all the spares and monitor when she needs to change them out (used to be once a month, but her Dr. recently switched her to bi-weekly as her eyes were starting to get dry). She hasn't lost any, but she's torn one here and there. Also, you might want to only purchase 6 months worth at a time. We had an issue with DD's eyes growing as fast as she was, and her presciption changed twice in a year. I buy them from our eye Dr. so that I can give any unopened boxes back to them and exchange them for others. The funny thing now is that she's wearing her glasses more often now. I guess it's "cool" to wear glasses now that she's about to start 6th grade. She still wears the contacts most of the time however. She only used to wear glasses at night before bed, but she's started wearing them all day some days and is bugging me for new frames! I just got her lenses updated in her old frames so she'll have to wait until Jan. for new frames (our vision insurance will pay for new glasses then). It won't cost you anything to have her try contacts, except maybe a "class fee" for her to be instructed on how to put them in and out and care for them. They always provide a trial pair for a couple of weeks and she can decide then if they're for her. Good luck - I'm sure she'll be fine.

 

[DISNEY1975]

my dh has the ones hes supposed to take out every 2 weeks... but he has been known to wear them for 6 months straight while on deployment LOL
the doc is always on his case about them..

I wear mine forever too! If its not broke, dont fix it!! Im suppose to take them out every night and toss them every 2 weeks. I sometimes wear mine a month or two (or three!) I often forget to take them out at night too. I forget my age and try to watch the 11:00pm news (I dont know why I keep trying...I never make it!) I fall asleep with them in.

At the last appt to the Dr, she knew I was forgetting to take them out. She said I was damaging my eyes (forget exactly what she said). I have been wearing lenses for 20+ years, so dont think one night will cause damage.

What your daughter might like too is the Freshlook color blends! Enhances the color of her eyes! When I was younger and they first came out, I got the saphire!!! I must have received 20 comments per day..everything from "Your eyes are so beautiful" to "Are those really your eyes?" (no, I borrowed them!)

Colorblends are about $40 box (6 lenses). Regular are $30 (6 lenses)..again, youre suppose to toss the pair every 2 - 3 weeks.

Good luck!

 

[NeedaVacation03]

Wow!! Thanks so much.
I am going to call the Dr. in the morning to see what we will need to do.
She is very excited, so I hope it all works out for her.
She wants to start high school with a new look. Thanks again.

 

[goofy4themouse]

My Husband is a Cerified Optican, so I told him to reply.

The first thing that I ask any parent of a child who wants Contacts is how responsible are they. It is a responsibility and by not cleaning them or over-wearing them, could cause damage to the wearer's eyes. You can't always go with cost to determine which Contacts the Dr prescribes. It depends on the curvature of the cornea and the diameter of the eye. It also depends on if they are spherical or toric lenses. This is determined by if there is astigmatism involved or not(astigmatism is the shape of the eye.). Toric contacts are more expensive that spherical contact.

Once the Dr prescribes the type of lens, he or she will often times give the the Pt. some diagnostic lenses to wear. The Dr. will want to see the Pt. back in a week or so to check the fit and if the Pt can see properly and they are comfortable. After all of this, the Dr will then finalize the RX and the Pt can buy them.

I recommend your daughter getting a pair of backup glasses as well(I've done the shopping for you already, check out Wal-Mart for the glasses, best prices around for Kids glasses). She can't wear the Contact every single hour of the day. Even if they are extended wear contacts(can be worn overnight), I still tell all of my Pts' to take them out at night to give the eyes a break. The eye needs Oxygen to function and putting a piece of plastic over them 24/7 is not the best way to go.

Hope this helps. If I can be of any other help, just ask.
Keith
Goofy4theMouse's spouse

 

[ksumn1]

My DD will be 10 in November and has worn glasses for about a year. She really wants contacts instead of glasses. She can be a bit forgetful and lacks common sense sometimes so I'm in a quandry. I think I'll get them if the dr agrees but only let her wear them for sports or special occasions. She plays basketball and we had quite a few glasses scares last year even with the sports glasses. I love my contacts but can't wear them everyday. I remeber having hard contacts and boy are theses soft disposable ones sooo much more comfortable and easy to care for.

 

[Cindy B]

My son has been wearing them since 6th grade. He hated his glasses and wanted them bad enough to take really good care of him.

He's never lost them or forgot them. We get his contacts at BJ's. The eye store wanted 79 for his boxes and we paid 39

He doesn't have a pair of back up glasses.
As for the PP stating backup glasses, and Walmart having the best price.. zenni.com is better priced.

 

[AnnaS]

My son is almost 23 and has been wearing them since 9th grade. He is very responsible. He also always has a back up of eyeglasses. He wears the glasses when he sitting home/washing his car, etc. He also has the disposable ones (lasts about two weeks - depending on how they take care of them and how many hours per day they are on).

The very first time, he lost his contact case (came out of his pocket getting out of a car). He does not take them with him anymore unless going away. Another time, one came out while at beach (in the water). Another time, for some reason one contact in one eye kept falling out (wasted).

Things will happen, but overall he has been extremely responsible for them. We spend about $42 on a set of two (one for each eye - different rx).

I think we need to look into Costco - it sounds like we could save a few dollars.

If they have no problems wearing them (medically), I say definitely go for it.

 

[Fire14]

I just went thru contact buying for myself a few months ago. I found cheapest prices to be costco and walmart for single box price, If you plan to buy 8 or more boxes at a time the online sites (1800contacts, etc) can be cheaper. I personally found Costco to be cheaper than walmart on frames for my glasses also.

 

[momtris]

We just started DS (11) about 4 months ago. Best thing we ever did. He plays alot of sports, and even with Rec Specs it was just a pain. Both DH and I wear contacts so the adjustment for him was very natural.

We have him in Dailies-new pair every day. No worry about storing them, cleaning them or losing them. Nothing is worse than losing a contact on day 1 of a month long pair ! We typically buy ours at Walmart, mostly out of convience. His script is there and I can go in and buy them with our regualr items. It cost about $45.00 every 6 weeks or so.

 

[jstbcuz]

My DD15 is in her trial run right now. It cost us $150 for the class, and the trial contacts, etc.........and we go back next week for the Dr to make sure they are working for her ok. At that time we can purchase more contacts. Im not sure exactly what kind hers are. He told her not to sleep in them, but she can wear them up to 2 months. The contacts themselves are $35 a box or $70 a year. Now she does have the same prescription for both eyes so that helps.

 

[thomas998]

Okay... you asked for the good the bad and the ugly... most of what you've gotten is the good.

So just to balance things a bit.... eye infections (pink eye or a fungal infection) and corneal ulcers are some things your DD will have more risk of getting than if she just wore glasses. And contrary to what some might claim that you only have those problems when you don't follor the directions... following the directions does lessen the risk but the risk is still greater for people wearing contact than for those not wearing contacts.

I would also suggest you honestly look at how clean or dirty your DD is when it comes to washing her hands... If she is a very neat and tidy person then you will see less risk.. if she is one of those that gets her hands dirty and sometimes has to be reminded to wash her hands before meals and such then I would have some serious concern about her using contacts.

 

[kkwis2]

I started wearing contacts when I was about 12 years old (and that was many years ago..before they had all the disposable ones!). I definitely think a 14 year old can be responsible enough, but you are the only one who can decide if YOUR 14 year old is there yet.

I think I lost maybe one contact in my many years of wearing them.

A couple of tips: Make sure she takes them out EVERY night. No wearing them while she's sleeping! If you get disposables, mark the date on the box so she remembers when she started using the current pair and knows when to changes them.

I also bought them at Sam's (or Wal-Mart). They are much less expensive than anywhere else I found.

Good luck!