Contact lenses not always good for kids

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Contact lenses can change a teenager's life when it comes to appearances, but are younger wearers of contact lenses at a greater risk of doing damage to their eyes?

A contact lens is a medical device that's placed in the eye. A new report analyzed almost 145,000 pediatric emergency room visits related to medical devices and noted that almost 35,000 of them were due to contact lens problems.

Dr. Hames Reynold of the Ross Eye Institute said, "So really, an eye-opening statistic that contact lenses are serious business. Many people treat them as if they're harmless."

They would be harmless, if they were used properly, but many kids don't do that. Dr. Reynolds is chairman of Ophthalmology at UB Medical School and the Ross Eye Institute. He points out that the rules are simple.

"Follow the instructions on the wear schedule. Do not over-wear the lenses; change the lenses at the appropriate time; do not sleep in the contact lenses. Very straightforward," said Dr. Reynolds.

And the lenses must be kept clean, rubbed and rinsed with proper cleaning solutions, and stored in fresh solution every night. That's hard to get across to some kids.

Arnold Edelman of the Ross Eye Institute said, "And you try to tell them you need to clean them, "Oh, I've never had a problem!" You never have a problem, until you have a problem."

And a contaminated lens can cause a severe infection.

Dr. Reynolds explained, "That can result in permanent visual loss, serious permanent visual loss, and the only treatment for that serious permanent visual loss can be corneal transplantation."

So if a lens says discard in two weeks, do it, and keep them clean. Many kids can wear them safely and well. Dr. Reynolds has a way to predict that. He said, "If their room is filthy, and you can't get them to clean up their room, then they're not going to wear their contact lenses appropriately. That's a simple test."