Be sure to have your kid’s eyes checked for school

Posted by: Pepose Vision Institute in Eye Care on August 25, 2014

As Children’s Eye Health & Safety/ Back to School Eye Health Month comes to a close, please be sure to have their eyes checked.

Most children have healthy eyes. But there are conditions that can threaten good vision. Because you can’t always “look” into your child’s eyes to tell if they have eye health problems, set up some time today for an eye exam:

Your child’s eyes should be examined regularly and vision testing should be conducted starting around age three.
Parents should be aware of signs that may indicate their child has vision problems, including:
– Wandering or crossed eyes
– A family history of childhood vision problems
– Disinterest in reading or viewing distant objects
– Squinting or turning the head in an unusual manner while watching television

Talk to your eye doctor if you suspect your child has any of the eye diseases below:

Amblyopia (lazy eye)
Strabismus (crossed eyes)
Ptosis (drooping of the eyelid)
Color deficiency (color blindness)
Refractive errors (nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism)

And most important, teach your kids to be careful and protect their eyes.  More than 12 million children suffer from vision impairment, and eye injuries are one of the leading causes of vision loss in children*. There are an estimated 42,000 sports-related eye injuries each year and the majority of them happen to children.

*Nearly 25 percent of school-aged children have vision problems. Of children ages 3 to 5, close to one in 20 has a problem that could result in permanent vision loss if left untreated. The American Academy of Ophthalmology estimates that 80 percent of preschoolers do not receive vision screenings.

Give us a call to schedule an appointment.