Posted by: Georgia Eye Physicians and Surgeons in Latest News, Uncategorized
Back to School season is in full swing! Being the responsible parent you are, you’ve likely already gathered all the new school supplies, met with teachers, and taken the kids for fresh haircuts. One thing you may have forgotten is a back to school eye exam.
Eye exams are important to stay on top of for children because they often cannot verbalize or gauge how well they may or may not be seeing. Eye exams by a pediatrician should begin at six months and reoccur at three years and before first grade. Regardless of age, if squinting or signs of headaches are noticed, an exam by a board certified ophthalmologist or optometrist is recommended to determine if your child’s eye sight is at a lower level than it should be. Additional signs of early vision problems in children include poor focusing or visual tracking, eye rubbing, and light sensitivity. Early detection may prevent life-long visual loss in one eye, called amblyopia, by differentiating prescription error between eyes before eight years old. Because young eyes change constantly and eye issues can begin at any time, staying consistent with exams is a critical step in healthy routine eye care.
School age children can suffer unnecessarily when vision goes uncorrected. When they can’t see the whiteboard, they can’t take notes. When they can’t focus on a page to read, comprehension is nearly impossible. As a result, test scores can plummet, leading to reduced achievements and academic confidence for your child.
When taking your child to the eye doctor like those at Georgia Eye Physicians and Surgeons, explain the importance of healthy vision and all of the things they couldn’t do without it. Without glasses, which are recommended to be plastic for younger children, they wouldn’t be able to read their favorite story or see the stairs to climb up to the tallest slide at the playground. In addition, allowing your child to pick their own frames increases the chances that they will adhere to wearing them as needed.
For older kids and teenagers, contact lenses are a popular vision correction option. Dr. Marc Lay and Dr. William Segal will meet with you and your child to discuss the best vision correction method based on your child’s symptoms and lifestyle. Typically, contacts are reserved for patients middle-school aged and older to ensure that proper use, cleaning, and disinfecting can be performed.
Healthy eyes mean a healthier school year for your child. Schedule a back-to-school eye exam at Georgia Eye Physicians and Surgeons, P.C. with our board certified ophthalmologist or resident trained optometrist by calling (678) 584-0400
