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Dr. Deanna Pedroza poses with her son Nathaniel.  Nathaniel had his eye exam at 6 months of age and did fantastic.  At his age eye exams are simple and usually easily accomplished.

“Hey Doc, when should we start bringing our kids in for eye exams?”

We hear this question all the time, and the answer may surprise you: The American Optometric Association (AOA), and Vista Eye Care’s eye doctors, recommend that children be seen for their first eye exam at 6-12 months of age.  This early-life eye exam is crucial for detecting anomalous refractive error (such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism), health problems with the eyes (such as congenital glaucoma or cataracts), and functional problems with the eyes (such as eye turns or a lazy eye).  It is important to appreciate that a comprehensive eye and vision examination for your child is only achieved by visiting an eye doctor, and wellness screenings and school screenings should not be considered substitutes for actual eye care.

When a parent traditionally thinks about a child’s need for glasses, they may assume the child would complain about their vision if there was an issue.  If an adult can’t see properly, they are able to vocalize themselves and get the necessary help to correct their vision.  A child may have always seen poorly and won’t know that their vision is blurred.  For some vision problems such as farsightedness or astigmatism, the child may see fairly well, but oftentimes their vision requires more effort or concentration.  In the case of farsightedness, a child may see just fine in the distance, but may be incapable of comfortably seeing up close.  The argument there is: why wait until that child develops a reading problem before their visual needs are addressed?  While the majority of young children don’t need glasses, those that do really do, and allowing them to see comfortably from an early age ensures normal visual development.  Consider that most of a child’s learning is accomplished through the sense of vision!

Eye health is a product of both the environment and the child’s genetics.  A child’s exposure to chemicals or infection while developing in the womb can lead to congenital abnormalities that should be identified early.  Congenital cataracts are an example of an eye disease that may not be made obvious by a routine health exam.  At a child’s first eye exam, we typically dilate the pupils to allow better views of the retina, optic nerve, and lens.  Approximately 1 in 10,000 children are born with congenital glaucoma which should be identified early.  Sometimes odd genetic diseases result from the luck of the genetic draw, and their early diagnosis is crucial to the child’s eye health and vision.

If an eye isn’t able to see clearly, the vision achieved by that eye will not reach its full potential.  An eye that is otherwise healthy, but incapable of seeing 20/20 (which is the goal line on the letter chart) is called amblyopic, or a “lazy eye.”  An amblyopic eye will develop if that child needs glasses but doesn’t wear them, or if glasses has not yet been prescribed to them.  Amblyopia can also arise in children that have congenital cataracts (since the untreated cataracts don’t allow that eye to see clearly).  Amblyopia becomes a permanent detriment to vision if it is not identified early.  Vision develop starts to wrap up by the time the child is about nine years old, so if reduced vision hasn’t been identified by that age, and amblyopia has resulted, that vision reduction is likely permanent.  An eye turn (where one or both eyes don’t aim in the appropriate direction) is also a potential cause of amblyopia and may be due to a need for glasses or a need for a surgical procedure to properly align the eyes so normal visual development can occur.

According to the AOA, “current vision screening methods cannot be relied on to effectively identify individuals who need vision care.  In some cases, vision screenings may actually inhibit the early diagnosis of vision problems. Screenings can create a false sense of security for those individuals who ‘pass’ the screening, but who actually have a vision problem. These people are then less likely to receive treatment for their vision problem-and it could become worse.”  Vision screenings do a lot for patients that otherwise couldn’t afford, or don’t know of the importance of, their children’s eye care.  While they do have their usefulness, don’t rely on vision screenings to take the place of eye care.  Vision screenings should co-exist with actual eye exams to help monitor the state of a child’s functional vision and shouldn’t be utilized in lieu of eye care.

Vista Eye Care is proud to offer our services to patients of all ages.  We participate in the AOA’s InfantSEE program which examines children at 6-12 months at no cost.  In addition, children older than the InfantSEE age, but who have not yet had any eye care, are also welcomed to our practice.  A child’s eye exam is easy and typically not traumatic for the child (eye drops being the trickiest part for some patients!) and can have such a powerful impact on a child’s learning abilities and vision.  Please call us today at (303) 450-2020 to schedule your child’s first eye exam, or use the button below to schedule with us online!

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