Archive → December, 2011
Eye Exams from Infant to Preschool Children
How can an eye doctor give an eye exam to an infant? Parents ask this all the time. The news is that 6-month old babies are able to see as well as adults when it comes to focusing, color vision and depth perception. There are tests that we do on infants to make sure that your baby’s eyes are developing the way they should.
Infant tests include:
- Tests of pupil responsiveness help us evaluate whether the pupils open and close properly in the presence and absence of light.
- The “fixate and follow” test tells whether your baby’s eyes are able to fix on and to follow an object like a light or a toy when it moves. Infants should be able to fix on an object shortly after birth and to follow the object from side to side and above and below by 3 months old.
- Another test is the “preferencial looking” test. During this test we show the baby cards that are blan on one side and have stripes on the other to attract the gaze of the infant. By doing this we can test the vision responses of your baby without using an adult’s eye chart.
Eye tests for preschoolers
Parents wonder how a preschooler who doesn’t know his letters can be given an eye test. What if she is so shy around strangers she won’t even talk? We have common eye tests made just for small children, including:
- LEA Symbols for preschoolers. These symbols are similar to the standard eye tests for adults, but instead of letters, special symbols are used like apples, houses, squares and circles.
- Retinoscopy is a test using light shined into the eye to see the reflection from the back of the eye, the retina. This test will help the doctor determine the eyeglasses prescription .
- Random Dot Stereopsis is a test using special dot patterns and 3-D glasses to see how well your child’s eyes work together.
What kind of eye problems can young children have?
Besides the common problems of nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, other vision problems for school children include:
- Lazy eye, also known as amblyopia: We want to rule out “lazy eye” because it can decrease vision in one or both eyes without detectable eye damage. It is most often treated with eyeglasses or contact lenses, but occasionally it requires that your child wear an eye patch to strengthen the weaker eye.
- Misalignment of the eyes, also called strabismus: This results in crossed or misaligned eyes, caused by different kinds of problems such as muscle control. It is often the cause of “lazy eye” and should be treated as soon in life as possible to that the child’s vision and eye teaming skills can develop like they should.
- Inability to maintain eye alignment when looking at near object: Being unable to do this will hinder a child’s ability to read.
- Focusing, depth perception and color vision: These can hinder the child’s abilities to differentiate distances and colors.
- Anterior eye and eyelid health: We will check to make sure your child doesn’t have abnormal or infected eye lashes, bumps or discharge from the eye. He will check the eye cornea, iris and lens for cloudiness and other irregularities.
If your infant or preschooler has these problems checked out and action taken as needed, he will be ready to perform well in school.
Dr. Ronald J. Martin of VisionHealth Optometry focuses on quality eye care services to family members of all ages. Services include eye exams, contact lens fittings, retinal photography, pre- and post-operative care, and glasses frames and lens selection. Dr. Martin’s office is located at 1440 Medical Center Dr. Suite2, Rohnert Park, CA 94928. He can be reached at 707-206-0290 or email him at questions@vision-health.com. Visit VisionHealth Optometry online at http://www.vision-health.com.
Dr. Martin is a member of the California Optometric Association, the American Optometric Association, the Redwood Empire Optometric Society, and the Optometry Alumni Association of the University of California.
When Do Children Need to Have Their Eyes Examined?
Parents with preschoolers have asked me when they should schedule their first eye exam?
It is very important for children as young as 6 months old to have their first comprehensive eye exam, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). The reason for starting as such a young age is to help identify which children have vision problems. The statistics on this are that 5 to 10 percent of preschoolers and 25 percent of children in school have vision problems. Some of these are more responsive to treatment when the problem is identified early.
Children will need additional eye exams at age 3 and just before they start first grade, around ages 5 or 6, according to the AOA. School-aged children need to have an eye exam at least every two years unless a problem is suspected or as recommended by their eye care professional.
These early exams can reveal problems which can cause children trouble learning basic skills. Some of the areas include:
- Near vision
- Distance vision
- Binocular (two eyes) coordination
- Eye movement skills
- Peripheral awareness
- Hand-eye coordination.
Most states require an eye exam for all children entering school for the first time, however sometimes a family doctor or pediatrician detects a problem and suggests an eye doctor do a further evaluation, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).
The best time for the child to have the exam is during a time when he or she is normally alert and happy. Depending on the age of the child the exam will be done differently but will still cover such things as a case history, vision testing to see if the child needs glasses, testing of the eye alignment, health of the eye and where needed a prescription for eyewear.
The doctor may also ask if there were problems or complications during the pregnancy and birth, a list of the child’s medications and information about allergies.
Things the doctor needs to know, but may not ask include:
- Prematurity
- Delayed motor development
- Frequent eye rubbing
- Excessive blinking
- Failure to maintain eye contact
- Inability to stare at an object
- Poor eye tracking skills
- Holding a book too close or being too close to the television
Other information you want to share with the doctor include previous sight problems, failing a school vision test, eye treatments for lazy eye including surgery and eye diseases.
It is always best to keep notes in a book or on the computer of all these things about your children because you may need it for many years. You can also keep track of all illnesses, medications, innoculations and stages of development. Then when you are asked anything, you will have it all handy.
Dr. Ronald J. Martin of VisionHealth Optometry focuses on quality eye care services to family members of all ages. Services include eye exams, contact lens fittings, retinal photography, pre- and post-operative care, and glasses frames and lens selection. Dr. Martin’s office is located at 1440 Medical Center Dr. Suite2, Rohnert Park, CA 94928. He can be reached at 707-206-0290 or email him at questions@vision-health.com. Visit VisionHealth Optometry online at http://www.vision-health.com.
Dr. Martin is a member of the California Optometric Association, the American Optometric Association, the Redwood Empire Optometric Society, and the Optometry Alumni Association of the University of California.
Why Do People Develop Dry Eyes?
Many women come into the office complaining that they are having trouble seeing to drive, read or watch television. Most of them are going through menopause, but don’t know that one of the main causes of dry eye is menopause. Men also have dry eyes as they age.
What Keeps a Person from Having Dry Eyes?
The eye depends on tears to give continuous moisture and to lubricate the eye for healthy vision and comfort. Tears are made of a combination of oils for lubrication, water for moisture, mucus for even distribution, and antibodies and special proteins for infection resistance. The components are secreted from glands located around the eye. When something is out of balance, the result may be dry eyes.
