Contact Lenses For Toddlers Anyone??

twintotwin · #1 07-30-2007, 09:57 AM

Elijah really needs to wear his glasses but outright refuses by throwing them across the room. This has been going on for a year.

I've heard of infants having contacts and I know it's a possibility for Elijah (almost 5). I've been wearing them myself for 18 years. I think I could get them into his eyes...but how fast do you think he'll rub them out?

Anyone have experience?

TIA!

<----I think I'm the first one to use this!!!!

aydens mom · #2 07-30-2007, 12:21 PM

thats a tough one,I dont have any experience with this but Ayden got his glasses at age two,& we never had a problem with him wearing them,i think he knew he could see beter with them on,now hes 3 1/2 and hell actually ask for the in the morning before he gets out of bed(hes nesrsighted -5.00).Is it possible Elijahs script is wrong,that could be a reason he doesnt want to were them?

Hinchfamily · #3 07-30-2007, 08:36 PM

I think i saw a special on that once before. But it was a long time ago. I would think they would be hard to keep track of. Have you tried the sports goggles on him? I know there Kinda ugly but you can just strap them on tightly.

hcs_mom · #4 07-30-2007, 09:04 PM

Brianna did the same thing. The eye doc suggested slipping them on her right before she wakes up so that she wakes up and they are just "there". That worked *some*. We also had the glasses where the leg piece extends down and around the ear (like around the bac of the ear). I'll find her glasses and try to post a pic of them.

We also used these drops that somehow messed with her vision so that she would look through the glasses, not over them. I forget what they were called.

I'm sure you've thought of this, but do the glasses fit right? Is the script right? Are they rubbing him somewhere? Just a few thoughts...

I think Hannah would flip if I tried to put contacts in her eyes.

Jennie

Lifeisgood · #5 07-30-2007, 09:52 PM

Kerry,

Good thread. I'm a little nervous because I think it would be difficult for Harlie to wear glasses, you know, with her missing an ear and all. She goes back to the eye doctor this fall and hopefully she's still fine. I know that the strappy glasses would have to be the way to go - but if contacts could work - why not? I'm interested to see what others have to say about this.

Thanks,
Christy

twintotwin · #6 07-30-2007, 10:53 PM

When we first put them on him we could tell by his reaction that he was able to see correctly. I could tell by the way he focused right at the TV instead of around the TV. He left them on for a few minutes then threw them away.

This continued for a year. We all tried to sneak them on but he'd leave them on for about one minute. It's possible that they're not comfortable. I did go with an Armani plastic frame instead of the light wire.

I know I'm not trying hard enough because I don't want him to wear glasses, even though he looks so cute. It's just another contraption he'd have to wear.

I am really interested in contacts for him. I'd be more likely to do it if he could get the disposable lenses.

I'm hoping to hear from someone who uses them for their child.

WeAdoptKids · #7 07-30-2007, 11:02 PM

Our Malachi and Micah wore contacts. They were a blessing during the time they were needed. In our situation we took them in every Friday and they took the old ones out and put in the new ones. It was not something they would allow us to do at all. They put the numbing stuff in their eyes and it was over almost as fast as it began. The boys did not like it at all. During the time we used the contacts, we had to work with them to wear their glasses. For us it was a short term thing. For both boys it worked and they learned they could see with their galsses on. So they kept them on. We did it for nearly two years with Malachi and almost three years for Micah.

We never had a problem with either one rubbing them out of their eyes. They tried at first, but soon forgot about them. We did have to put drops in twice a day. Hope this helps some.

Roberta

drct1245 · #8 07-30-2007, 11:33 PM

Roberta,
Do you think this also helped slow down the progression of their vision loss?? I know when I started wearing contacts in 9th grade, my vision loss did slow down and in the past 2 years my vision has gotten a point better in each eye. (?) We will be crossing this bridge in about a year or 2 - he has -1 & -1.5 at a year of age. Ayden already hates sunglasses and hats...

thanks,
Dawn

Jacob's Mom · #9 07-31-2007, 10:20 AM

Jacob was going to have to wear a contact in one eye after one of his surgeries to balance his vision - one eye would have been extremely farsighted and the other extremely nearsighted. I was nervous thinking about it, but I've been wearing contacts for over 15 years, so I knew I could manage. He ended up having surgery in the other eye a few months later, so no contacts.

On a good note, Jacob had his annual eye exam yesterday and his vision is stable - no change in two years!! He'll still be sporting the thick bifocals though.

hogansteph · #10 07-31-2007, 04:58 PM

I don't have a lot of time to answer many questions here because Keyan is one of quadruplets plus we have a 5 year old but this is a topic I have to chime in on.

Keyan has worn contacts since she was 14 months old. They were a huge miracle for her. I can not say enough good things about them. The doctor put her in contacts because they were afraid that if she did not start getting good images to her brain, her brain would stop accepting images all together. We were totally overwhelmed. As a matter of fact, I really did not believe that the dr. meant actual contact lenses, I figured he must be talking about something else. He wasn't.

Keyan did not even roll before her contact but within a few weeks she was rolling all over because she could SEE!!!! It has been amazing for her development.

Now, I am not exagerating when I say they were a nightmare to get in for the first few months! I won't go into the gory details but it took two if not three of us to get them in and out everyday. She is now to the point that I say "Let's put your'e contacts in!" and she lays down. I can do it without holding her down at all.

Our doctor also felt that with the trach, g-tube, and other things that Keyan had enough going on....she did not need to add glasses to make her look different. I appreciated him being aware of this.

I will say, it can get expensive depending on what kind of coverage you have because at first she would rub them out so we would loose a lense every few months but this has become less frequent. I could go on and on but it boils down to this....I think, be very thankful for a forward thinking doctor. It was a struggle for awile but we made a comittment to Keyan to make time and money for the contacts and we will not look back. As a matter of fact, the other girls have their 3 year appointment in November and if any of them need glasses, we will push for contacts. Please feel free to ask me anything and everything.

Stephanie