A pediatric optometrist or ophthalmologist can see children as
early as 6 months old (Eyed LA's favorite patients are kids). Often times parents don't notice any abnormalities
and so the first time we see most children is in middle school with a note from
the school nurse requesting further testing. As grateful as we are to the
education system for helping health care professionals to detect blurry vision,
I find it lacking that our laws have not yet enforced parents to take their
children before the beginning of each school year.
The eyes are
normally still developing until the age of seven on average. This means
the eye is still learning how to function in a 3D world. Amblyopic (lazy
eye) eyes can occur during these developmental years (not at birth as commonly
believed); eye doctors screen for this constantly with children. If only
one eye is blurry it's easily overlooked by the visual system; try and think of
the last time you covered one eye to check the other. Children are highly
adaptable and sadly never even notice until the eye turns or is discovered
years later when treatment becomes more challenging. The sooner your eye
care professional detects an abnormality of vision or health, the higher
success there is for treating the issue.
Here is my checklist
for parents regarding their children's ocular health:
1. Find a
pediatric optometrist (Call us for appointments: (424) 208-3107); it's very helpful if the doctor knows how to exam
children and prescribe.
2. Child's age is
irrelevant. If you notice an eye turn, the child is getting close to objects
to see them, constant eye rubbing or health issue just take them. If you
are being a preventive care parent, know that they don't need to read letters
for eye doctors to evaluate their vision. The exam is more objective
(doctor takes notice) and much less subjective (patient participates; adults).
3. As parents I
know it can be hard to accept the reality your child might need glasses, so
take the time to ask a lot of questions. Be present in the exam room so
you can view the results live. Remember your doctors cannot predict the
future of their development, however optometrist can improve the present to
inspire the future to be more clear and comfortable for them.
See and Be Seen! at Eyed LA Optometry in Brentwood, West Los Angeles
www.eyedla.com
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