“Will my son need glasses for life?”
My son is 5 years old and already needs to wear glasses. Will this be a lifelong thing?
9 Answers
Jason Randall Smith
Optometrist
It really depends upon what his prescription is, or in eye care terms, "what is his refractive error problem"? What this means is this; is he nearsighted, farsighted, or does he have astigmatism? Knowing this, you may be able to predict if this is a short-term or long-term issue. Also, there are other options other than glasses when he is at a certain age, including contact lenses or refractive surgery.
It will be helpful to know the diagnosis. However, is very common to have myopia, also called nearsightedness, at a very early age. The younger the diagnosis is usually, the stronger it will get through the lifetime of a patient. Early onset myopia or hyperopia has a genetic pattern and in moat cases myopia is a dominant trait from the parents. It is hard to predict how much more prescription will the patient develops, but it is known that it will not go away. The meaning of myopia is that the eye keeps growing more than the actual normal size of the eye. Hyperopia also can change in the ages of puberty.
Your eye doctor will be able to look at your son's prescription and let you know if he will need the glasses for life. The answer depends on the type of prescription that he has. Generally if he has a higher prescription, then he will need glasses for the rest of his life. Some kids are prescribed glasses just for reading or school work and they grow out of it. Consult your eye doctor to seek the full answer to your question.
Not necessarily. It depends on the prescription.
Hello! There is no way to know the answer to this for sure. The best thing you can do is continue seeing your optometrist annually or as directed and he/she will keep an "eye" on his vision. Some people "outgrow" glasses and some people get worse, but everyone is different.
It depends on your son's refractive error/condition (eye prescription). I would recommend your son to have annual eye examinations, so that your eye care professional can best monitor your son's refractive error and determine the best course of treatment. Remember a person's refractive error will usually change until he/she reaches late 20's or early 30's. The amount of prescription change will vary on each individual.
It depends, there are many advanced technologies that can reduce dependence on glasses. Although refractive error may fluctuate, many kids that wear glasses continue to use them during school age. It all depends on the specifics of your child’s exam. I would recommend following up with your eye care provider for specifics.
Maybe. Depending on the prescription and reason, he may need visual correction long term. Contacts and Refractive Surgery are a potential possibility when he is older. However, wearing glasses with UV protection while he is young is very protective and can slow future development of cataracts and macular degeneration (if susceptible) as well as protecting him from injuries.
Depends on his type of refractive error and prognosis. If he has strabismus or amblyopia, it can easily be corrected with glasses, eye patching, or surgery.
