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CHILDREN'S VISION

Eyesight and ABC's

There's a definite connection between a child's vision and his or her ability to learn. Although most children have their eyesight tested before school begins, even children with 20/20 vision can have vision problems. That's because school eye testing only measures a child's ability to see clearly, while professional vision exams look at a child's ability to understand visual information. Because vision is not always tested, it's possible that more than 15 percent of school-age children have undetected problems that are interfering with their ability to learn.

Reading is an essential part of your child's education. The first years of school are often spent learning to read. Then, once a child can read, reading is one of the main tools of learning. Good vision is vital to the ability to read, and, in fact, more than 80 percent of learning is achieved through the use of the eyes.

If your child isn't working up to his or her ability in school, a vision problem could be the cause. Symptoms of this can include reading errors, reversing similar-looking letters, or mistaking words that look alike. Children who complain of headaches, rub their eyes often, avoid close work, tend to hold books very close to their faces, or squint to see distant objects may all be experiencing vision problems.

A complete vision and eye health examination is often the answer to vision problems that hamper learning. This type of exam before school begins and every few years thereafter can detect vision problems before they create learning problems. Depending on the diagnosis, glasses, contacts, or vision therapy may be prescribed for a child with learning related vision problems. Effective treatment now usually means preventing learning difficulties that can lead to stress and frustration later in school and in life.

On those lazy, hazy days... you need sunglasses

On those days when the sun isn't shining blindingly, you still need sunglasses. Exposure to dangerous ultraviolet (UV) light isn't negated by a cloudy day. Whether you're at the beach, the pool, or just crossing a parking lot, the sun's light is reflecting on to the surface of your eye and causing damaging results.

This type of exposure, over time, can result in a number of eye problems. Pterygiums are growth that form on the whites of your eyes. Cataracts form when the sun-damaged proteins in your eye come together to form a cloudy film. Age-related macular degeneration is aggravated by sun exposure and causes loss of sight that cannot be regained.

To battle the sun effectively, you need glasses that cover as much of your eyes as possible so as not to let sunlight leak in over the top or around the sides. The lenses of your glasses should b able to absorb both UV and blue-violet light. In addition, a wide-brimmed hat can help you ward off even more dangerous rays. And, you need to take these precautions on hazy days as well as on brighter ones.

Putting the Pressure On

In these health-conscious days, many people know their cholesterol count and their blood pressure. Fewer people know anything about their intraocular pressure, or IOP.

Your IOP is based on the fluids in your eye. This number measures how these fluids form and then drain from the eye. We can measure this pressure in our office using our tonometer.

Your IOP is an important factor in helping us determine your eye health. If our testing tells us your eye produces too much fluid and/or doesn't allow fluid to drain adequately, you have high IOP. A high IOP can mean that a patient is at risk for glaucoma and should be watched carefully to avoid irreversible damage.

Some groups of patients tend to have higher IOPs and, likewise, an increased glaucoma risk. Checking on ocular pressure is part of a complete eye health exam. By keeping your scheduled appointments with us, we can watch your IOP and treat problems accordingly.