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Ojas Eye Hospital in Bandra, Kandivali, Mumbai

First Eye Examination Appointment Of Kids

July 26, 2021

Introduction

Healthy vision plays a critical role in a kid’s life. Kids start learning through their eyes. With the help of vision, they can differentiate between the objects. Different shapes, sizes and colours attract kids easily and this helps in enhancing their learning ability. If your child faces difficulties in seeing objects, it can alter their learning ability and also have an  impact on their mental growth.

Eye examination at an early age is the key to prevent eye disease in your child. An eye examination includes several tests that helps evaluate childs vision and the presence of any eye disease. Therefore, regular eye checkups help your eye care professional to advise you on the correct treatment for your child.

First Eye Examination Appointment Of Kids

The age of first eye examination of babies should be at 6 months. It seems surprising but many visual skills are already developed in this age. The visual skills include:

  • The ability to focusing
  • The ability to fixate on something
  • Developing colour vision
  • Depth perception

Children should have an eye examination at 3 and thereafter every 1 or 2 years to avoid future vision problems.

Why It Is Important?

Regular Eye examination is important in children because:

  • It prevents many vision problems and ensures that your child’s eyes are healthy.
  • It prevents the vision problems in your child’s school performances.
  • It is essential for optimal learning in early and late childhood.
  • It helps in improving their skill development.
  • It helps in enhancing the visual acuity of   the child.

What Are The Things To Consider Before Visiting The Clinic?

Your child should be alert or happy before the examination. Before visiting your doctor, you must be prepared to answer  the following questionnaire:

  • Is it a normal delivery or premature birth.
  • Does your child rub his eyes frequently.
  • Is there a delay in development of motor skills.
  • Does your child have difficulty in maintaining eye contact.
  • Did you have a normal or a complicated pregnancy.
  • Does your child have excessive blinking or normal blinking.
  • Does your child has squinting problem.
  • Is your child healthy or has any other health problems.
  • Is there a family history of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or any other problem in the body.
  • Is there is family history of vision problems like high myopia, astigmatism or hypermetropia.

What To Expect At The Clinic?

The eye examination of children totally depends on the child’s age. For instance, eye examination of infants and toddlers usually is objective type whereas eye examination for children above 3 years is subjective type.

Normally your doctor will evaluate the following elements during the examination:

  • Evaluation, detection or prevention of any eye disease or disorder
  • Detection of any sign of vision loss and partial loss such as lazy eye or amblyopia
  • The doctor will ensure to check  the movement of the eyes in all gazes
 

Objective examination

The objective examination for infants and toddlers includes

  • Eye muscle coordination
  • Proper alignment of eyes
  • Sign of eye disease
  • Signs of refractive errors
 

Subjective examination

The subjective examination of late toddlers includes

  • Eye problems like squint, ptosis etc
  • Vision problems like near or farsighted ness
  • Colour-blindness

What Are The Common Problems In Children?

Children can face many eye-related problems in their early childhood. The most common eye problems include:

Lazy eye (Amblyopia)

Lazy eye is a vision disorder that causes an impact in early childhood. It is the condition in which the vision of one or both  eyes is not developed properly. It is a common problem among infants and young children. It is necessary to identify the disease in early childhood to prevent further deterioration of vision abnormality.

Refractive errors

The refractive errors are myopia(near sightedness)hyperopia ( farsightedness)& astigmatism causing blurred vision. In these conditions, the image that reaches the brain is not clear or sharp. Children find difficulty in seeing near or far objects.

Cross eyes (Strabismus)

It is most common among infants and young children. In this condition, the eye appears to be misaligned and points in different directions.

Pink eye (Conjunctivitis)

The most common condition among children is pink eye. It include bacterial conjunctivitis (caused due by bacteria), viral conjunctivitis (caused due by viruses), allergic conjunctivitis (caused due by irritants).

Eye allergies

Eye allergies not only affect adults but also have an impact on infants. The causative agents of eye allergies are pollens, pet dander, dust, chalk and other irritants.

Conclusion

An appropriate eye examination at an early stage of a child’s life ensures that your child has excellent visual health. Healthy visual skills are of utmost importance to perform whether it is in school or a playground.

A child who can’t see properly becomes demotivated and easily frustrated. This can also affect a child’s mental health. The academic performance of child can become poor. You should discuss signs and symptoms with your doctor and get advice for further treatment.

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