August is Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month
Staying up to date on your eye health is important no matter what age you may be. This month we’d like to share some information on something that is too often overlooked: children’s eye health.
Being young, children are often expected to be more durable and have fewer health problems than adults. They can face many serious issues that need immediate intervention or that you can avoid with prevention.
Keep reading to learn how to keep your children’s eyes healthy this month!
Vision Problems For Children
Children are not immune from the same dangers that face adults. Plenty of vision issues that people think are exclusive to adults can be found in children. Here are some examples.
Myopia, Hyperopia, and Astigmatism
It’s common knowledge that you can be born with nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. These refractive errors occur when there are abnormalities present in the cornea.
These abnormalities cause light to focus in front of the retina, behind it, or onto several points. This results in refractive errors.
It is important to get glasses as soon as you realize your child has any form of vision impairment. Not treating these visual problems makes it more difficult to be successful in school.
Pink Eye
Children are quite prone to eye infections. They are more likely to touch their eyes and face without washing their hands.
One of the most common eye infections children can pick up is pink eye (conjunctivitis). Pink eye can be contagious when it comes from a virus or bacteria, or it can be an allergic reaction.
Strabismus
Crossed eyes are present in about 4% of children. Having crossed eyes can make it difficult to focus. If left untreated, the child will learn to ignore the vision of the crossed eye.
This makes treatment becomes much more difficult. With exercises and therapy, strabismus can be fixed, but it requires early treatment as soon as possible.
How to Prevent Them
You cannot stop all bad things from happening to your child’s vision. What you can do is teach them good eye care habits to carry with them through the rest of their life.
Maintaining healthy vision is much easier if you begin at a young age. It’s much harder if you learn later on in life and have to play catch-up.
Have them practice good hygiene by showing them how to wash their hands the right way. Teach them to avoid touching their faces as much as possible.
Also, feed them healthy foods filled with vitamins A, C, and D, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, zeaxanthin, and lutein. You should also make sure they are drinking enough water.
Regular visits to the eye doctor are necessary as well. Some problems need to be addressed by a professional to fix them.
Pinke Eye Center is equipped to diagnose a wide variety of vision issues that may not be apparent to the untrained eye. It’s never too soon to start taking care of your eyes, so do your children a favor and come for a checkup!
Schedule an appointment at Pinke Eye Center in Shelton, CT today!
