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Eye Care (Expert Forum)
Severe Myopia (-14) in 13-month old: Contact Lenses vs. glasses
Answered by
James J Salz, M.D. - Ophthalmology
Los Angeles - CA
Our Ask A Doctor Ophthalmology Forum is where you can post your question and receive a personal answer from physicians affiliated with the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Severe Myopia (-14) in 13-month old: Contact Lenses vs. glasses
by kayihan, Jun 18, 2007 12:00AM
My 13 month old son has a severe myopia in his left eye (-14)coupled with quite thin/weak retina structure. The right eye is perfectly healthy at this stage. Doctors suggest that we use soft contact lens (-12), preferably not daily but extended wear (2 weeks)given the difficulty of putting on and taking off lenses for a small child, to better treat the bad eye and slow the progression of myopia. They argue that we can get better/faster results using lenses compared to wearing glasses given the huge difference in the two eyes' ability to see. We will be also patching the healthy right eye to force the brain to pay attention to the left eye with high myopia. My question is whether using extended wear contact lens would help us in getting results significantly better than weraing glasses. What are the risks associated using contact lens, especialy for a 13- month old with a thin retina. We can not find extended wear contact lenses (power:-12, silicone on hydrogel, BC:7.80-7.90, dia:12.5-13.0) in the country where we live (Turkey). Is it possibe to order such tailor made lenses on line?
many thanks in advance for your help.
regards.
kayihan
many thanks in advance for your help.
regards.
kayihan
Doctor's Answer
by James J Salz, M.D., Jun 18, 2007 12:00AM
, Jun 18, 2007 12:00AM
Dear Kayihan,
Your doctors have given you the correct advice as to what to do. There is an increased risk of getting an infection by sleeping in the contact lens so I would favor taking it out every day at night to let the cornea breathe as this will reduce the risk of an infection. The contacts have to be fit and this should be possible in Turkey which has very advanced eye care. Patching the good eye while the contact lens is in the weak eye will help maximize the vision potential in the weak eye.
James J. Salz, M. D.
Your doctors have given you the correct advice as to what to do. There is an increased risk of getting an infection by sleeping in the contact lens so I would favor taking it out every day at night to let the cornea breathe as this will reduce the risk of an infection. The contacts have to be fit and this should be possible in Turkey which has very advanced eye care. Patching the good eye while the contact lens is in the weak eye will help maximize the vision potential in the weak eye.
James J. Salz, M. D.
