Families have many reasons to find out about vision care just for their children, especially with several children starting to read and learn at a very young age. Questions include: How soon do I need to begin getting our child's eyes examined? How does an optometrist check the visual acuity of a child who doesn't yet read? Could poor eyesight hinder a child from learning at a normal pace ?
Your typical eye doctor is not always the individual to ask. Numerous doctors specialise in different areas. An office calling itself a family vision center is usually staffed with a wide range of eye doctors and experts who could work with you and your family members through all stages of life.
So just what are some of the early exams which are done?
A routine eye examination is usually a standard component of the physical given to infants and children by their neonatologist or pediatrician. Your infant will be examined at birth for any congenital conditions. Although these health problems are generally infrequent, diagnosis is crucial for the baby's proper vision and eye development.
At the age of 6 months, the pediatric eye doctor is going to examine for nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, eye movement ability, proper eye alignment reaction to changes in light and darkness (red papillary light reflex), as well as any general eye health problems. An irregular light reflex can be a sign of irregularities within the structure of the eye. These might possibly include cataracts (clouding of the lens), how well the eye focuses light, or perhaps tumors. At any time, if issues are uncovered during the examination, the child will most likely be referred to the pediatric ophthalmologist, who focuses on diagnosing as well as treating eye conditions in children. Early diagnosis of childhood eye problems is critical to successful treatment.
For young children between the ages of 3 and five years, the eye doctor is going to perform a physical examination of the eyes. A doctor will also perform vision tests making use of eye chart exams, images, letters, or possibly the "tumbling E game" to test the child's visual acuity, or ability to see form and detail of objects. This "tumbling E game," otherwise known as the "Random E's Visual Acuity Test," is effective in determining visual acuity for children who cannot yet read. The child is asked to identify the direction that the letter "E" opens to by holding out four fingers to mimic the letter "E."
All children should be tested for amblyopia preceding their fifth birthday. Amblyopia is a problem in which one eye sees poorly and it's usually successfully treated with glasses, patching, drops, or surgery depending upon the cause of the problem.