My eye doctor is recommending nighttime contacts for my son
By Suzieqmom
@Suzieqmom (2755)
United States
May 26, 2011 6:26pm CST
My son, who is 8, has suddenly become myopic (near sighted) in a short amount of time. My eye doctor has recommended that he wear hard contact lenses at night while he sleeps, to temporarily correct his vision so that he doesn't need to wear glasses or contacts during the day. He is to put them in before he goes to bed, and then take them out as soon as he wakes up. This procedure is also supposed to keep him from getting any more nearsighted, and is completely reversible--all he has to do is to stop wearing the contacts, and his eyes will revert back to their "normal" state.
Has anyone heard about this tgechnique, or better yet, tried it? Any thoughts, good or bad?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@chimchim1018 (5)
•
29 May 11
I've never heard of this before. I wear contacts but my doctor told me to never wear them while sleeping. Every time i forget to take them out before going to bed, i wake up with super blurry vision and i always have a hard time removing the lens as they stick to my eyeballs! yikes
@Suzieqmom (2755)
• United States
29 May 11
Me too, but I wear lenses that are not meant to be worn at night. These lenses are designed differently, I guess. They come with special wetting drops, too.
@Suzieqmom (2755)
• United States
28 May 11
Apparently, because they are specialized hard lenses, they temporarily reshape your corneas while you sleep--kind of like lasics but on a temporary basis. That way, if they are too irritating, or he wants to stop for any other reason, his eyes will just revert to their previous shape and he can wear glasses again. It's an interesting concept, one that has apparently been around for more than 10 years, although I had never heard of it before.
@youless (112496)
• Guangzhou, China
31 May 11
I tried this kind of contact lens in the past. I must say that it worked well since after a night, my eyesight was perfect next day as well as I was not near-sighted. However, if I skipped to wear it one night, then my eyesight would be back. Namely I would be near-sighted again next day. So it couldn't cure my bad eyesight. And you know you have to be very careful to wear contact lens since they will contact the eyes directly. If you are careless, it will lead to your eyes have the infection. And in a long term, I wondered whether it will be really good for my eyes since I have to wear it at night. So finally I stop using this kind of contact lens. I feel troublesome to wear it at night and take it off next morning. Especially it will be very inconvenient for me if I have a travel.
I love China
@yoyo1198 (3641)
• United States
27 May 11
I had not ever heard of this and was wondering why the lens would be worn at night when seeing was not necessary. After reading about it, I understand better.
Hopefully, this will help your son. I see no harm for the short term as long as the lens do not irritate his eyes. Good luck with this.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/worn-during-sleep-special-contact-lens-correct-myopia-063524246.html
@Suzieqmom (2755)
• United States
28 May 11
Thanks for the link. The lenses are specially designed to be worn at night, and come with special wetting drops. The risk of infection is there, of course, but we will help him keep them very clean. I hope it works!
@Shar19 (8231)
• United States
27 May 11
I have never heard of this before. I'm surprised that your doctor recommended contacts for such a young child. I would think it would be dangerous to sleep with them in. I've known people who have lost a contact lens up in their eye from accidentally falling asleep with them. I'm wondering if you should have got a second opinion. I'm a little concerned about this.
@Suzieqmom (2755)
• United States
28 May 11
The doctor's son has worn them for 10 years--he started when he was 8, and his vision has never gotten any worse. It is a team practice, and they are all specialists and very highly regarded. They provided me with a plethora of reading material, studies, risks, etc. Several of their technicians have also used these contacts for many years--one started when she was five! I think it depends on the kid, but of course we will help him keep them clean and all that. I wear contacts myself (during the day) and know how to clean and care for them. My biggest concern is that it doesn't work, and we end up going through all of this for nothing.
I will get a second opinion before we start--that is very good advice.
