Contact Lenses

Cultivate a Child-friendly Practice

Alicia Lombardo, OD, of Altoona, Pa., says that children’s sports leagues are very popular in her area. As a result, she began seeing younger and younger athletes who could benefit from contact lenses. “I realized I was seeing so many children who were in competitive gymnastics, hockey teams or playing on traveling soccer teams. They or their parents would tell me that they can’t wear their eyeglasses under helmets or while actively doing sports,” she recalls. So she began fitting a few of these patients with daily disposable contact lenses. “I began dabbling with it, but as soon as I fit one person on a team, I’d  suddenly get phone calls from half of the other kids’ parents. That’s how I built a pediatric practice,” she says.

Although many of these youngsters were fit initially to wear their contact lenses during sports or performances, she noticed that they and their parents began to see other benefits of contact lens wear. “They might start wearing them for a specific reason, but I’ve heard parents tell me they saw their child’s self-esteem or school performance improve or it simply became more convenient to wear the contact lenses all day,” she says. Many of these children are now full-time contact lens wearers.

Because she started them out with daily disposable contact lenses, it’s a modality they’ve come to appreciate. Few children or their parents seek to trade in the convenience and simplicity. DAILIES® AquaComfort Plus® contact lenses are a great fit for many of these youngsters. “They’re very comfortable contact lenses, and there’s a built-in compliance. Patients tend not to wear these a second day,” she says. Introducing these contact lenses to new wearers is also easy. “They’re easy to handle for the student, and they’re immediately comfortable. Plus, they’re easy to fit. We can tell in the exam room that it’s a good fit and that the vision is crisp.”

Overall, 40 percent of her contact lens patients are in a daily disposable contact lens. “We’re working on incorporating the DAILIES TOTAL1® water gradient contact lenses into the practice, too. Those are excellent lenses,” she says.

Addressing parent concerns, Dr. Lombardo will introduce the option of contact lens wear to parents, out of earshot of the child, when she thinks it’s appropriate. She doesn’t want to create tension between an excited child and a parent who may be opposed to the idea. More commonly, “I hear a lot of parents say, ‘I didn’t get contact lenses until I was 16. Do you think my child is old enough or responsible enough?’ But these parents probably didn’t have daily disposable contact lenses as an option,” Dr. Lombardo says.

“I tell them that I recommend daily disposable contact lenses exactly for that reason. We don’t have to worry about how well a child cleans his or her contact lenses or how old or dirty the contact lens case is. And for children who are involved in sports, it’s easy to keep an extra pair of contact lenses in the sports bag—just in case something happens to their contact lenses or eyeglasses while they’re playing.” Parents see the advantages quickly.

With her first-time, young contact lens patients, Dr. Lombardo reminds the contact lens technicians to spend the extra 10 minutes or so with these young patients so that they—and their parents—are confident they can insert and remove their contact lenses when they get home.

Even if parents decide not to pursue a contact lens fitting at the visit, “sometimes they come back six months later, or they’re ready to say yes at the next annual visit.”

Dr. Lombardo also mentions that these are the contact lenses she wears. “I think wearing a fresh, sterile pair of contact lenses every day is a healthy way to wear contact lenses.” *

See product instructions for complete wear, care, and safety information.

Accommodating the Family

When Dr. Alicia Lombardo looks at her daily schedule, it’s not uncommon to see four or five patients with the same last name. “We often see entire families,” she says. She rarely has these patients cancel or not show up because it’s so convenient for them to be able to attend to all of the family’s eye care needs in one day.

She and her staff will coordinate so that if there are two siblings who are being fit with contact lenses, the technician will wait to start the insertion and removal instructions until both children are ready.

“Once you have a child in your practice, you’ll likely see that child for 15 years or so. Many of these patients even come see me when they’re home from college. And others stay or move back to the area and start their own families here,” she says.

Dr. Lombardo, who was introduced to pediatric optometry during her clinical rotations, was delighted when the Sam’s Club opened in 2002, sharing a parking lot with the same Walmart where she had worked for five years. “This Sam’s Club office is bigger than most, which has allowed me to build a vision therapy practice. Contact lenses are a part of that, as well,” she says.

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