Are contact lenses free on the nhs for chrildren under 16?!

Are contact lenses free on the nhs for chrildren under 16?

and can i swap galsses for contacts

No they're not unfortunatly, and you cant swap glasses for contact lenses even when you have contact lenses you must keep your glasses you will need them if you lose a lens, damage a lens, get an eye infection etc.

If you've never had conctact lenses before you will need an up to date s/t (free on the nhs for under 16's and your recall date may be a year or two years) you will then need a contact lens fit when the optician will check the health of the surface of your eye (the inter-ocular [inside your eye] health is checked during your routine s/t) and also check what type of lenses you will need. He/she will probably ask you a lot of questions to work out your needs and establish the best type of lens for you.

there are several types of lenses:
dailies - wear for one day usually 14 hours max, take them out and throw them away at the end of the day. The benefits of these are that they are convenient, and can sometimes be more hygenic however they are not the cheapest of contact lenses. Ciba dailies are quite good, there are some others like acuvue advance.

monthlies - 1 pair of lenses for thirty days that you take out and clean each night, you can also get bi weeklies. these can be a bit inconvenient but are cheaper than dailies.

continuous wear - 1 pair of lenses that can be worn 24 hours a day for up to 30 days - i wear these, they really are brilliant!! can get a bit uncomfortable towards the end of the thirty days and you may need to take them out occasionally to give them a rinse but nothing beats being able to see first thing in the morning.

Your optician will tell you which of these are best for you, obviously there is so much more to do with contacts but it's best if your optician gives you information that is specific to you.