Vision & Age

Teenagers

Eye Examination

What’s important in this stage of eye development is that your eyes stay healthy - good vision is vital for just about every activity you choose—and you want to keep your vision for many years to come.

Teen's Eye Exam

There's no question: the best way to preserve and protect your vision is through regular professional eye examinations. In between examinations, if you notice a change in your vision —or your eye is injured in any way— inform your parents and get in touch with your eye care professional!

What to Expect: the Comprehensive Eye Exam
Each eye care practitioner has their own routine, but most comprehensive eye exams follow a similar pattern
The eye care practitioner will conduct tests to check for:

• Vision - The eye care practitioner will check for nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. While you look at an eye chart, he/she will measure your vision precisely, and, if necessary, determine a prescription for corrective lenses.

• Coordination of eye muscles - The practitioner will move a light in a set pattern to test your ability to see sharply and clearly at near and far distances, and to use both eyes together.

• Side (peripheral) vision - The practitioner will move an object at the edge of your field of vision to make sure you can see it.

• Pupil response to light - The practitioner will shine a light in your eye and watch the pupil's reaction.

• Color testing - The practitioner will ask you to describe figures in a series of illustrations made up of numerous colored dots or circles. This tests your ability to differentiate colors.

• Eyelid health and function - The practitioner will examine your eyelid, inside and out.

• The interior and back of the eye - After dilating your eyes (by both using a few eye drops and dimming the lights so the pupils will widen), the practitioner will use a special instrument called an ophthalmoscope to see through to the retina and optic nerve at the back of the eye. This is where clues to many eye diseases first show up.

• Measurement of fluid pressure - The practitioner will release a puff of air onto your eyeball using an instrument called a tonometer. This tests the pressure inside the eyeball, an early indicator of glaucoma and other diseases.

Sports Vision and a Teen's Vision Correction Options
One in four teens needs vision correction. If you’re the one in four, you’ve probably been wearing glasses for a while. You already know if you’re nearsightedness, farsightedness or if you have astigmatism, the three most common vision issues that come to light when you’re young.

Ready for Contacts?
So how can you tell that you’re ready to make the jump to contact lenses? There’s really no set age. Your eye care professional may suggest contact lenses when you’re as young as 11 years old, or even younger. You do need to make a commitment to taking care of your contact lenses on a daily basis. It’s up to you, your eye doctor and your parents to determine if you’re ready for this responsibility.

The good news is cleaning regimens are not as complex as they used to be - there are even daily disposable lenses that you wear once and throw away. Bausch & Lomb offers many choices for soft contact lens care.

You need a prescription.
Contact lenses have to fit correctly on your eye, or serious damage can result - so by law, you have to have a prescription to buy them. It’s very important to have your eye doctor fit the lenses properly for you. Your doctor will teach you how to insert the lenses, remove them and keep them clean.

Cosmetic Contact Lenses
You may have seen cosmetic contact lenses online or in some stores. These non-vision-correcting lenses are safe as long as they are properly fitted to your eye - you still need a prescription for these “plano” lenses. Never “borrow” lenses from friends and do not buy these without a prescription! The lenses probably won’t fit your eyes correctly, which could result in serious injuries. Talk to your eye care professional if you are interested in these lenses.