The EYES have It

     Good morning, Fam...  With the start of the school year, the one thing that parents may want to insure, is that their little ones and not so little ones get an eye exam.  The reality is that eye exams should be done during well-child visits, but everyone may not take their child for yearly exams.  Some children may only be seen at the doctors office during "sick" times.  According to Web MD, children should have their eyes examined at 6 months, 3 years, and before 1st grade.

     American Optometric Association (AOA) reminds us that "vision doesn't just happen". The brain actually functions to teach the eyes how to see.  The longer a vision problem goes on and untreated, the more the brain will make adjustments to accommodate the vision problem.  

     In a baby, the eyes provide information and stimulation for growth.  It is so important to pay attention to any problems as they may affect a baby's development and ability to learn.  I had a family member who's baby girl always turned her head to one side.  No matter what she was doing, she would turn her head in the same direction.  Her parents mentioned it at one of her visits to the doctor and she was found to have a congenital defect in her eye that was causing her to have double vision.  Apparently, when she turned her head in the favored direction the vision would be normal.  She was able to have surgery as an infant to correct the matter and she is just fine and has no vision problems.  But imagine how her life would have been affected if that problem was not detected.

     As I mentioned before vision is a vital for growth and development in children.  According to the AOA, a child from ages 2 to 5 will be fine-tuning their visual abilities that they gained during infancy and start to develop new ones.  Preschoolers want to draw and look at pictures.  This is the time to pay close attention to whether your child recognizes colors, shapes, letters and numbers.  If they don't start picking up on these abilities, this could indicate delays in development which could be associated with vision problems.  This a time for parents to pay attention to crossed eyes or lazy eye as these conditions often develop in this age group.

     During a complete eye exam, the eyes will be inspected for muscle movements, the pupils will be tested for response to light.  The corneas will be examined and the alignment of the eyes are checked.  In certain age groups the acuity test is done using an eye chart where the child has to identify various characters.   There are different doctors that offer eye care:

• Ophthalmologists are medical doctors who provide comprehensive eye care with medicine and surgery.  The prescribe corrective lenses and diagnosis and treat eye diseases
• Optometrists provided services that are similar to ophthalmologists, but they do not perform surgery.  Some may actually specialize in children's eye problem
• Opticians fit, sell and fill prescriptions for the eyeglasses

      With vision problems on board you may find your child doesn't want to go to school, performs badly in school, has a hard time paying attention, complains of headaches or may take longer than normal to complete homework assignments.   If your child needs glasses just remember that they should have plastic frames  and impact-resistant plastic lenses for safety.   Make sure the EYES have it, by getting your children's eyes examined...  SMOOCHES...