Children's glasses

I ve never heard of special lenses to slow down shortsightedness I d do some research about that before shelling out or saving up I have three out of seven grandkids
( cousins) all wear contacts one very far sighted although every glasses wearer in the family have been shortsighted except this one

Depending on the age of your granddaughter, it's rather a foolish suggestion from that salesperson. Children grow and the glasses will need replaced. They can also break glasses more easily just by being children. I wouldn't spend that on them either.

The lenses you mention are specifically for myopia.
They are probably worth the money.

Our son wore glasses from age 4 as he was a prem baby, now at 30, he no longer needs glasses.

Here’s a link explaining the technology behind these lenses.

www.visionexpress.com/brands/stellest-lenses

Glasses are becoming ridiculously expensive- but my kids buy theirs on-line.

I’d try at least one other optician to compare prices, as you would with other purchases.

That's interesting about those lenses for myiopa Sago.
They would certainly be worth it to slow down the condition in a child, as well as being beneficial for school life.
I'm not surprised they are costly, but maybe prices will come down after a while as they become more widespread.
How old is your DGD WelshPoppy? If she is often careless, could her new glasses with trendy frames be regarded as a fashion accessory? Then she will take better care of them?

Id never heard of these, so took to the Internet. It took three pages before I got to anything that wasn’t a link to businesses selling these lenses.

This is what I found out.

Myopia continues to worsen till the early to mid twenties

Extreme early myopia can lead to other eye problems later in life

The glasses do appear to slow myopia in children but I couldn’t find any hard evidence to what extent or as to long term benefits.
At the moment the long term benefit seems to be theoretical.

The glasses slow the development of myopia. They don’t prevent it or cure it. They are believed to make it less worse than it would have been.

Of course that’s a judgement because you can’t know how much the eyes would have deteriorated without the glasses. You can only compare two groups, one with the glasses and ne without, to reach your conclusion that the glasses worked.
I couldn’t find any studies on this.

Presumably they are a relatively new innovation so future studies may prove their benefits.

If you decide to go for them perhaps check if they are covered for damage under the household insurance or even with your credit card.

If you go for a cheap standard frame you can have the lenses reset if the frame gets broken.

She might not like those though!

My new glasses, with expensive lenses, were insured through Boots when I bought them, for a nominal fee.

I thought children's glasses were still free on the NHS - am I dreaming?

I just looked it up - test is free and voucher towards basic lenses. You can't get these specialised lenses on the NHS.

It's a good thing glasses for chidlren were free when mine were small - one of them got through a pair a week to begin with - she was 2.

Why does it matter if a child is short-sighted? Very many of them are. They just wear normal prescription glasses and get on with life.

As a short sighted child/teenager (prescription of -6), there were four choices of frame colours for children back then; black, blue, pink , or tortoiseshell. My mum insisted I have the tortoiseshell frames as, she said, 'they went with whatever I was wearing'. I longed for the pink frames.

I thought it was the shape of the eye that caused myopia and no amount of 'special lenses' on a pair of glasses would slow down what is, in effect', already there. What do I know with this new fangled technology.

Anyway, over 30 years ago after many years of contact lens wearing (I was far too vain back then to wear my thick lens glasses as I got older), I underwent laser surgery to 'cure' my short-sightedness.

One of the best decisions I ever made.

There are now lenses to help stop myopia deteriorating in a child and I think we should embrace this and be glad of it.

But the cost is prohibitive and means only children of rich parents can access this. This does not seem right - but I also understand the NHS cannot fund everything.

Jdotj myopia is just the medical term for shortsighted

My son's adventure with all things eyes started at two, glasses, patches and surgery. I remember apologising to his Consultant about needing yet another prescription to replace broken glasses. He said never apologise about a child who wears their glasses as the ones to worry about are the ones who turn up with six months old glasses that look brand new probably because they are never worn. So if a child loses or breaks them I would not complain.

Eyesight is precious, all the pain and anguish was worth it with my son when his eyesight was good enough for him to be discharged after nearly ten years of treatment, two operations and sometimes weekly visits to hospital ( the cost of travel and lost hours at work added up.)

If I could beg borrow or steal the money to safeguard my child/grandchild sight I'd do it without a second thought, well hopefully not steal.

My granddaughter started wearing glasses aged 5 and for the last 2 years since age 8 she has been wearing these prescription contact lenses. It means that she will not be so shortsighted as she grows up. The research is very clear about this. She looks after them herself, puts them in and takes them out completely by herself and maintains good eye hygiene. She loves wearing them every day, all day. She has had no problems at all.

KateCan2015

My granddaughter started wearing glasses aged 5 and for the last 2 years since age 8 she has been wearing these prescription contact lenses. It means that she will not be so shortsighted as she grows up. The research is very clear about this. She looks after them herself, puts them in and takes them out completely by herself and maintains good eye hygiene. She loves wearing them every day, all day. She has had no problems at all.

What a great girl. You must be proud, she sounds so responsible.

I suggest you go to another optician. Or speak to your GP, tell him the story and ask for referral to a Hospital eye clinic.

there are special lenses but I'm not sure if the case to pay for them is proven. You need to do some research as other opticians may not charge as much.

My six year old grandson needs glasses. He’s a very active child, breaks and loses. The optician is very helpful. I’d find an alternative.

Short sight can be hereditary but it's increasingly common in children who spend a lot of time staring at screens. Combat it by encouraging them to spot things in the distance while outside e.g. a bird on a rooftop, a plane in the sky, a tall chimney, a cloud that looks like something etc. Never look directly at the sun!

Luckygirl3

I thought children's glasses were still free on the NHS - am I dreaming?

Lickygirl13 - Children’s glasses are still free on the NHS, but you can (&options will often push for) more expensive designer frames and tints etc