Keeping a close eye: Caring for Your Child’s Eyesight

He’s staying a little close to the TV as he watches cartoons, and there’s a frown on his face in place of a delighted smile. He squints and hesitates before he walks over to get his favorite toy across the room. Could it be just a phase your child is going through? These are just some of the signs that tell you: It’s time for a trip to the ophthalmologist.


Unclear about eyesight
The problem children have with their eyesight is that sometimes, “they don’t know what clear vision is in the first place,” explains Patricia Villa, M.D., pediatric ophthalmologist at The Medical City. Problems with eyesight, Villa says, can be with the child as soon as he is born, so looking for signs of poor vision in children is not enough. “Sometimes, it’s like an accidental diagnosis when they visit the clinic.”

“The child will not complain if there is a problem, so he must be checked regularly,” says Patricia Santiago, M.D., pediatric ophthalmologist at St. Luke’s Medical Center. Doctors Santiago and Villa advise parents to bring your child for an eye checkup as soon as he is six months old, and yearly after this. Dr. Santiago stresses that parents who have poor eyesight should bring their child for a checkup, since problems with seeing can be hereditary.


See eye to eye
An eye checkup isn’t something your child should be afraid of. During a checkup, your ophthalmologist will run a procedure called cycloplegic refraction. Here, your doctor will use eye drops to dilate your child’s pupils so his eyes can be inspected up close for visual acuity or sharpness of vision. Your doctor will then be able to determine whether there is a misalignment or a refractive error in your child’s eyes. For kids in their school years, doctors also use picture and letter charts from which they will be asked to identify figures at various sizes and positions.

“The main objective in a pedia-tric clinic is to diagnose a lazy eye or amblyopia,” stresses Dr. Villa. Children with high refractive errors in one or both eyes become susceptible to this. A lazy eye does not see clearly, and your doctor can check for this through the eye’s nerves that are connected to the brain.
“The weaker eye tends to shut down and no matter what amount of grade you put, it will be blurred permanently,” explains Dr. Villa.

To prevent your child from getting a lazy eye, he will need to wear glasses or undergo periods of patching. “You patch the stronger eye so that that brain will not forget the poorer eye. You can start patching as early as six months,” says Dr. Santiago.

 

Click here to learn more about refractive errors and how to choose proper eyewear for your child.

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Read on to learn more about refractive errors and how to choose proper eyewear for your child.

 

Let there be light
The refractive errors nearsighted-ness or myopia, farsightedness or hyeropia, and astigmatism are the most common eye problems your child might have. These problems occur when there is trouble producing a clear image because of how the light enters and works inside the eye.
•    If your child is nearsighted, he has longer eyeballs, as well as steeper corneas and lenses. These make him see things clear up close, but everything at a distance is blurry.
•    If your child is farsighted, he has shorter eyeballs, as well as flatter corneas and lenses. These make him see things blurry up close, but everything at a distance is clear.
•    If your child has astigmatism, the eyeballs are oval in shape. The images your child sees are sometimes tilted, blurry, or shadowy.

Misalignments or strabismus are also common in children, especially since their eyes are still developing. Eyes either cross (esoptropia) or move opposite ways (exotropia) because sometimes, the strength of the eye muscles pulls in different directions when focusing. “He has to wear glasses to accommodate the need to control,” says Dr. Santiago.

These problems with eyesight can be detected as early as your child’s sixth month. So do pay attention to your little one’s sense of sight. Bring him for regular eye checkups before the age of seven, as these are the years when crucial development occurs.


Plastic makes perfect
When it’s time to shop for your child’s glasses, keep in mind that there’s no stopping him from being the playful and energetic kid he is. And because of that, you have to provide him with eyewear that is safe, durable, and flexible.

Doctors Villa and Santiago recommend that the frames of glasses for young children, as much as possible, must be made entirely of plastic. “Everything has to be flexible for safety,” says Dr. Villa. “If you get a frame that’s made from metal, this might even hit his eye. Plastic glasses are very comfortable for children.” If the budget allows, Dr. Santiago suggests you opt for glasses with polycarbonate lenses instead. “These are impact-resistant which are ideal for children.” If you can’t afford these special lenses,

Dr. Santiago assures parents that the plastic ones are just as good.
Contact lenses, according to both doctors are reserved for babies who had to undergo cataract surgery.
Dr. Santiago advises that only those with a grade higher than 400 should start wearing contacts. “With contact lenses, you don’t have to worry about peripheral distortion, unlike with glasses.” It is up to you to decide whether your child is ready and responsible enough to wear contacts.

 

Click here to learn more about eyewear options and the truth behind popular eye myths.

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Read on to learn more about eyewear options and the truth behind popular eye myths.

 

Don’t worry if your child needs to wear glasses. Both doctors assure parents that children adapt easily to this change. “Children actually wear glasses better than adults,” says Dr. Santiago. “Because if he sees better, then pretty soon, the child will see it as second skin,” she adds. Be firm with your child wearing his glasses, Dr. Villa stresses. “As soon as he wears it, he’ll get to experience a different world where he sees everything clearly for the first time.”


Eye Spy
We give you the truth behind some of the most popular eye myths.

Myth 1: Carrots can improve eyesight.

False. Carrots are good for the eyes because they are a good source of Vitamin A, but eating these won’t lower the grade of your eyes. “They’re good for the general health of the eye, meaning your retina will not be destroyed or the eye will be protected from generative diseases,” explains Dr. Santiago.


Myth 2: Reading in a moving car will affect your eyes.

False. You get dizzy from reading in the car because the tendency is to look down at what you’re reading, and this affects your ears, not your eyes. Dr. Santiago explains, “The moving of the eyes affects the inner ear fluids. The fluids then move and have to go through three semicircular canals to adjust, which may take a while, causing you to get dizzy.”


Myth 3: Reading in dim light can make your eyesight poor.

False. “If you read in the dark, it’s going to cause you eye strain, but there is no clinical study that proves it worsens eyesight,” says Dr. Villa. Because of bad lighting, your eyes have a more difficult time focusing, which will tire them out.


DIY Diagnosis
There’s no substitute for having your child’s eyes checked by a pro, but
Dr. Santiago suggests these tips to find out if there’s a problem with your little one’s eyesight:

1. Camera trick. Take a good look at a photo of your child. The flash of the camera should reflect in your child’s eyes. If this does not fall on the same spot in both eyes, Dr. Santiago says there’s a possibility your child’s eyes are misaligned. Also, if you’re checking for the red eye in photos, both eyes must show the same color. If one of his eyes has a different color, then it would be best to consult your ophthalmologist.

2. Flash of light. Shine a flashlight on your child’s eyes. The reflex should also fall on the same spot on both eyes. If the spots are not in a similar location, then a misalignment is possible.

3. Patch me up. Cover one of your child’s eyes and ask him to focus on an object. After a while, move the patch to his other eye. If the other eye moves while one is patched, then your child might have a problem with focusing.  


Photo from flickr.com