Nearsightedness | VSP Blog

Posts Tagged ‘nearsightedness’

3- to 5-year-olds need eye exams

Posted on February 22nd, 2011 by Jessica H.

Jessica Hein, member of VSP's Eye Health Management Team

VSP has always promoted the importance of eye exams starting at 6 months to detect certain infections, congenital, or hereditary eye diseases that may be present at birth or develop shortly thereafter. Eye doctors also check to make sure their eyes are working together. If not, one or both eyes may be affected and that could lead to a lifetime of poor vision. If treated early, the impact can be greatly minimized.

Just last week the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) statement in Pediatrics also confirmed the importance of vision screening for children 3 to 5 years old. This new statement is an update to the 2004 statement on vision screening and says, “There is adequate evidence that early treatment of amblyopia (lazy eye), in children ages 3 to 5 years leads to improved visual outcomes.”

Children’s eye exams can identify nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, conditions that can be easily remedied with prescription glasses. But an eye exam can also detect amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus. Strabismus is a condition in which the eyes don’t look in unison at the same object. Strabismus is a physical disorder; amblyopia is the visual consequence. Amblyopia and strabismus are most effectively treated when detected early. Treatment includes visual therapy and, often, surgery. Left undetected or untreated, blurry or double-vision may be a lasting result.

Be sure to take your children for annual eye exams. Healthy vision is essential to a child’s ability to learn and achieve their academic potential, and to play sports and other activities.

File under: eye health | Tagged: children's eye exams, childrens vision, eye exams, eye health for young children, farsightedness, lazy eye, nearsightedness, vsp insurance, VSP Vision Care
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Black Eyed Peas rapper reveals he’s legally blind

Posted on February 7th, 2011 by Lisa P.

Black Eyed Peas member Aple.de.ap (Photo Source: Diverse Hip Hop)

The Black Eyed Peas may have rocked the Super Bowl XLV halftime show yesterday but you would never have known one of the members is legally blind. Rapper Apl.de.ap recently told People magazine he suffers from an eye condition called nystagmus, which causes him to have severe blurry vision and nearsightedness. He was diagnosed as a child and says he is now comfortable with his vision condition and works around it.

VSP recommends seeing an eye doctor annually, so if you haven’t had an eye exam in a year, find a doctor near you to schedule your next appointment.

File under: eye exam, eye health | Tagged: apl.de.ap, black eyed peas, blurry vision, eye exams, eye health, nearsightedness, nystagmus, super bowl, super bowl xlv
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Importance of Children’s Eye Exams

Posted on January 18th, 2011 by Jessica H.

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.