Can You Be Too Young for Laser Vision Correction?

The short answer to the question, “Can you be too young for laser vision correction?” is: Yes.

There are reasons why you still see so many children wearing glasses today, even when laser vision correction is performed on more than 700,000 people each year. laser vision correction is a refractive surgery that treats eyesight imperfections that cause myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism. laser vision correction technology reshapes the cornea to allow light to focus properly on the retina. The result is clearer vision, even 20/20 or better vision, for many patients.

So why wouldn’t you want to have laser vision correction performed as soon as possible?

We all know that children are constantly growing and changing, and their eyes are no exception. In fact, some people have refractive instability into their early 20s. This means that their vision correction needs may be frequently fluctuating. One qualification of being a good candidate for laser vision correction is having stable vision, without prescription changes, for at least two years. Most children simply do not have that stability.

So what is the right age for laser vision correction? The Food and Drug Administration has stated the minimum laser vision correction age requirement is 18 years old, but there can be rare circumstances where the procedure is recommended earlier. The determination for laser vision correction for any age individual can only be made after a comprehensive laser vision correction Evaluation by a qualified doctor.

Pacific Eye Specialists offers Free laser vision correction Evaluations. To learn more, visit our website at pacificeyespecialists.com or call 415-921-7555.