When it comes to children’s eye health being proactive could aid in the physical, cognitive, and social development of your child. Early detection and treatment are critical in setting a child on a positive path for their health and well-being into their adult years. Detecting your child’s vision problem early may help slow down or even reverse the issue with corrective measures.
Why Children Wear Eyeglasses1:
According to Johns Hopkins ophthalmologist Megan Collins, M.D., children often wear glasses for several reasons, such as:
-Improving vision
-Strengthening vision in a weak or amblyopic (lazy) eye
-Improving the position of their eyes (crossed eyes or misaligned eyes)
-Providing protection if they have poor vision in one eye
Signs that a child may have vision problems include1,2:
- extreme light sensitivity
- poor focusing
- poor visual tracking (following an object)
- abnormal alignment or movement of the eyes (after 6 months of age)
- chronic redness of the eyes
- chronic tearing of the eyes
- a white pupil instead of black
- Rubbing eyes excessively. Excessive eye rubbing may indicate that your child is experiencing eye fatigue or strain. This could be a sign of many types of vision problems and conditions, including allergic conjunctivitis.
- Having difficulty concentrating on schoolwork. Because children need to quickly and accurately adapt their visual focus from distant to near and on a number of different objects ranging from chalkboards and computers to textbooks and tablets, vision problems may manifest as a lack of focus on schoolwork.
- Squinting. Squinting may be a sign that your child has a refractive error, which affects how well the eyes focus on an image.
- Tilting head or covering one eye. This might be an indication that the eyes are misaligned or that your child has amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, which is one of the most common eye disorders in children.
- Sitting too close to the television or holding hand-held devices too close to the eyes. Sitting too close to the television, holding hand-held devices too close to the eyes or lowering the head while reading are all possible signs of poor vision.
- Complaining of headaches or eye pain. If your child complains about eye pain or headaches at the end of the day, he or she may be overexerting the eyes in an effort to increase the focus of blurred vision.
In school-age children, other signs of vision problems to watch for include:
- being unable to see objects at a distance
- having trouble reading the blackboard
- squinting
- difficulty reading
Watch your child for signs of poor vision or crossed eyes. For a vision breakdown by age– click here. If you notice any eye problems, have your child examined right away so that the problem doesn’t become permanent. If caught early, eye conditions often can be corrected.
Also, creating a good eye health routine for you and your child can aid in better eye health. Using products like ComfortClear® to remove debris from the eyelids and lashes and Zenoptiq™ to kill viruses and bacteria* on the eyelids and lashes is a good way to start a new eye health routine.
Order Comfort Clear Eyelid Wipes for your children today!
Source:
1. https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/tips-children-eyes-vision
2. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/how-to-know-if-your-child-needs-glasses
