There are many signs of undetected vision problems, from rubbing eyes excessively to recurring headaches. Find out how you can safeguard eye health in your little ones with a few, simple recommendations.
A child’s visual system is in constant evolution and, in some cases, glasses can be an essential tool to help normal visual development.
How do you know when your child needs glasses?
According to Johns Hopkins ophthalmologist Megan Collins, M.D., it is possible to identify a number of signs that indicate that your child may be experiencing vision problems, such as:
- Moving eyes too close to, and inadvertently, to digital screens. This could be a sign of poor vision. People affected by myopia have clear vision at a close distance;
- Rubbing eyes excessively. Excessive eye rubbing may indicate that your child is experiencing eye fatigue. This could be a sign of many types of vision problems, including allergic conjunctivitis.
- Headache and eye pain. These problems may be caused by eye overexertion in an effort to increase focus.
- Squinting. Squinting may be a sign that your child has a refractive error, which affects the way his or her eyes focus on an image. By squinting, your child may be able to temporarily improve the focus and clarity of an object.
- School problems. Since 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 themselves as a lack of focus on schoolwork.
Optimal vision is essential to the learning process. Therefore, it is important to be aware of your child’s overall eye health and what you can do to safeguard it.
It is also essential to have your child’s eyes checked regularly throughout his or her growth process: at birth, at the age of three, at six – when they start going to school – and when they are twelve years old.
An eye examination may change your child’s life!
Source: Hopkinsmedicine
