Jessica Hein, member of VSP's Eye Health Management Team
Eye exams for children are extremely important. Approximately 5 to 10 percent of preschoolers and 25 percent of school-aged children have vision problems such as an inability to see clearly at a distance. Early identification of a vision problem can be crucial because children are often more responsive to treatment when problems are diagnosed early. Another reason to have your children’s eye examined is the early detection of diseases such as diabetes.
For school-aged children, an eye exam every year is recommended, even if no vision correction is required. In between those yearly eye exams, keep a look out for symptoms of eye problems in your child. Because, like everything else going on with their little bodies, their eyes can change seemingly overnight. Here are some things to watch for:
- Squinting: The classic symptom of either nearsightedness (not seeing well far away) or farsightedness (not seeing well close-up). Glasses are probably in order.
- Alignment problems: If one eye keeps “drifting off,” it could be “lazy eye” or amblyopia. Treatment includes a corrective eye patch on the normal eye so it forces the weaker eye to work harder and improve. The younger the child, the better, to avoid a grade-school patch.
- One eye: If your child closes one eye and it helps him or her see better, there could be a structural problem like astigmatism.
- Eye rubbing: If your child rubs his or her eyes or you hear complaints of headaches, see the eye doctor. There may be some eyestrain going on that glasses can help.
When you make your appointment for an eye exam with a VSP doctor, don’t forget to make one for your children. It’s an important part to maintaining their healthy development.
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