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HOW  EYESIGHT  DEVELOPS?

 

Sight informs us about our environment and plays a major role in communication. Good vision aids your baby's development from the early stages of infancy.

 

The development of the visual system is not complete when your baby is born and requires clear stimulation to develop fully.

 

At birth, all babies have very poor visual acuity, which is the measure of how well a person can see detail. The acuity improves rapidly during the first year of life, but does not reach the adult level until a child is three to five years old

 

Many other aspects of seeing, such as the control of eye movements, are not fully developed at birth and mature alongside the visual acuity. 

 

What if my child needs glasses?

 

Most babies are born with long-sightedness and astigmatism, but this decrease over the first year of life. If you or your partner have worn glasses since you were very young or have a lazy eye, there is a much higher chance of your child having eye problems. In these situations, your child should be examined regularly from a young age.

 

Usually, children's eyes should be examined at yearly intervals, but the optician (optometrist) will advise on this if more regular checks are needed.

 

Lazy eye

 

If one of your child's eyes has a retractive error, it will become lazy. He will therefore depend on his good eye.

The 'lazy' eye needs to be corrected while your child is very young, otherwise the sight in the eye will always be poor.

 

An optometrist may recommend that a patch is worn over your child's good eye for part of the day. This should encourage the lazy eye to work.

 

IDENTIFYING  EYE  PROBLEMS

 

Very young children with poor sight accept this as normal because they have never known anything else. All children should therefore be examined before starting school. Signs to watch out for include:

 

Screwing up the eyes, rubbing the eyes, or excessive blinking: this could be associated with difficulty seeing, an eye that tends to wander or a dislike of bright light.

 

An eye that turns in or out: below the age of three months, many babies will have an eye that occasionally turns in, but if it stays in or out or turns after three months, help should be sought.

 

A family history: if you, your partner, or a member of your family has a squint, lazy eye or strong glasses.

 

Sitting too close to the television: your child may require glasses, although it could also be just a habit.

 

Difficulty distinguishing colours: one in 1 0 males and fewer females have  ‘colour blindness'. Often this runs in families. 

 

THE EYE EXAMINATION

 

Your baby's eyes car be examined from birth onwards, but the examination will differ in many ways from the examination of an adult. She optometrist will rely on what are called 'objective tests'.

 

• An optometrist may shine a light into your baby's eyes to cheek that there are no cataracts. The light reflections of each eye are compared to check that' there is no squint. 
• To test your baby's vision, the optometrists will spow your baby special cards and note the direction of her gaze. Toddlers may need to match letters or pictures. Your child can practice this matching technique at home before the test.
• Other sight tests will be carried out to check that your child's eyes are working together. The optometrist will look into Your child's eyes using a special instrument; called an ophthalmoscope, to ensure that they are healthy. 
• Drops may be used to make your child's eye muscles relax and give the optometrist a better idea whether glasses are necessary or not. 

This baby is being tested for a suppressed squint, which causes blurred vision and may lead to loss of sight. A squint can be corrected With glasses,  patch over the normal eye or surgery.

 

Fitting the right glasses

 

A child with impaired vision will need to be fitted with glasses. A special range of children's frames give a good and comfortable fit.

 

• Young children should have plastic lenses in their glasses, so that damage to the eye is less likely in an accident. 
• Expect glasses to break regularly and take this into account when considering the cost. 
• Only in very exceptional circumstances would contact lenses be appropriate for a pre-school child. In these cases, the lenses would be fitted at hospital. 
• Children should not have refractive errors corrected by laser because the eyes are still developing. 
• Children's sight tests are available through the National Health Service at no charge and a voucher is also provided towards the cost of glasses, if these are necessary. 

LONG SIGHT, SHORT SIGHT ANS STIGMATISM

 

In normal sight, the image of an object is focused on to the back of the eye (retina). If this doesn't happen, the person is said to have a refractive error or ametropia and cannot see without glasses. There are three main types of refractive error:

 

Long-sight or hyperopia: this is an inability to focus on objects close up. It usually occurs when the eyeball is too short, making the light focus beyond the retina.

 

Short-sight or myopia: this is the inability to focus on a distant object. It usually occurs when the eyeball is too long, which means that the sharpest image forms in front of the retina.

 

Astigmatism: where the light comes to a focus at two points, rather than one.

 

Short­ sightedness: the light focuses in front of the retina and objects in the distance appear

blurred

 

Long sightedness: the light focuses beyond the retina and it is difficult to see things close up.

 

EYESIGHT  PROFESSIONAL

 

Screening checks are carried out at various stages of your baby's development, but you can take her to have her eyes tested by an optometrist at any time.

• Optometrists are often known as opticians, although, this is a general term to cover anyone who is involved with the provision of glasses.
• Optometrists are professionally qualified to examine eyes to check the sight, establish whether glasses are necessary or whether there is any eye disease. They often work with dispensing opticians, who help with frames and lenses. 

For  More  Information:  Please  consult  your  physician  on  your  next  visit.