Happy Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month! August has arrived in the blink of an eye, which means summer is coming to an end. With the new school year just around the corner, parents are busy shopping for school supplies, filling out enrollment forms and going to their child’s orientation and physical examinations. As part of Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month, we here at Vision For Life urge you to add a complete developmental vision examination to the top of your back-to-school checklist.
It is estimated that 80 percent of a child’s learning is processed visually. If your child is unable to process his or her vision correctly, then this can drastically affect his or her academics as well as physical and social development. What better way to start your child’s school year than to ensure that his or her vision is up to par?
The most common vision problems among children are amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (crossed eyes), ptosis (dropping of the eyelid), color deficiency (color blindness) (something about binocular vision and tracking instead) and refractive errors (nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism). Many of these conditions can be treated, and the earlier they are diagnosed, the more successful the treatment is. If your child is displaying the following symptoms, he or she may be suffering from an undiagnosed vision problem:
- Closing or covering one eye
- Frequently rubbing eyes
- Tilting head or thrusting head forward
- Having trouble reading, reduced comprehension, or skipping words and lines
- Blinking more than usual during near work
- Headaches
- Lack of focus and concentration during near work
- Squinting eyes
If your child is dealing with any of these symptoms or you have a family history of vision problems, contact us today to schedule an appointment for an eye examination. Your child’s eyes and vision should be examined beginning at six months of age, then examined again at the age of three. Once your child enters school, he or she should receive exams yearly. If your child’s vision problem is left undiagnosed and untreated, he or she could receive permanent vision loss or even become blind. (something about struggling in school instead) Why take the risk? Especially when our vision therapy treatments have proven to be successful.
Now it is time to talk eye safety. During the month of August, we highly encourage parents to discuss the importance of eye safety with their children; however, practicing eye safety habits is important all year long. Children spend a big part of their day playing, whether it is outdoor sports or video games, their eyes are constantly at risk. Your child’s vision is in your hands, and you can easily protect his or her eyes by taking the proper precautions.
At Vision For Life, we encourage parents to limit their child’s video game time to 30 minutes of play followed by a break and no more than 2 hours total spent playing video games in a given day. We also recommend that parents have their children wear protective eyewear during sports. These glasses can be purchased at independent eye care locations.
We all know that no matter how many precautions you take, accidents can still happen. In the unfortunate event that your child injures his or her eye, follow these safety steps:
- Do not allow your child to rub or touch his or her eye.
- Do not apply any kind of medication to the eye.
- Do not attempt to remove any debris from the eye on your own.
- If a chemical got into your child’s eye, flush the eye with water immediately.
- Seek medical attention immediately so that a medical professional can assess his or her injury.
At Vision For Life, you have a team of friendly, experienced advocates for your child’s vision and eye health all year round! Set your child up for success this school year by scheduling an appointment for your child’s yearly vision examination. Call us today at 618-288-1489 or contact us here.