The National Optometric Association (NOA) and Prevent Blindness has deemed August Children’s Eye Health Month as of July 2019. Children’s Eye Health Month calls attention to the importance of children’s eye care as kids enter into a new school year.
Raising awareness of the vitality of children’s eye health encourages families to bring their kids to their Orange County eye doctor to promote healthy vision. Too many children go into the school year without a proper eye exam. This may lead to untreated eye disease and difficulty seeing in the classroom. When this happens, kids often don’t speak up about their struggle because they feel ashamed or confused. The last thing we want is for poor vision to affect their academics.
A “Guide to Vision Health For Your Newborn, Infant, and Toddler” is being offered by the NOA and Prevent Blindness to help educate parents on the importance of healthy vision. To stay informed means a heightened awareness when these problems present themselves. Certain signs of vision problems can appear at a young age, as well as vision decline.
Early Signs
Early signs of vision problems include double vision, tilting of the head to see, squinting, or losing their place when reading. Children experiencing this often avoid reading aloud in class or participating in reading from the chalkboard. Some children are easily embarrassed and sensitive. They will rarely speak up about their issues because they often just don’t know about them or know how to express themselves. Asking your child questions and encouraging them to be honest about their struggle is a great way to start. Taking them to an eye doctor is another way to find out what they may be struggling with. Nearsightedness, farsightedness, lazy eye, and astigmatism may all develop at an early age. When recognized early, vision problems become much more preventable.
Remain aware of factors that increase your child’s likelihood of experiencing vision problems.
- If the child was born prematurely
- The child has had an eye injury
- They have a mental disorder that affects them physically
- If vision disorders run in the family.
If any of these conditions apply, it’s important to stay up to date with your child’s eye care. They may be more susceptible to vision problems than you think.
Prevention
Celebrating Children’s Eye Health Month is also about raising awareness of vision problem prevention. Kids are more prone to eye injuries because they’re much more active than adults. Think about all the wacky things your kid gets into — rolling around in the dirt, wrestling, playing many sports, the list goes on and on.
Does your child participate in sports where they can easily injure their eyes? Protective eyewear is a must. In addition, limiting their time on computers, phones, or in front of a television is critical to children’s eye care. Finally, kids are out in the sun much more than adults. It’s essential that they remember to wear UVA/UVB blocking sunglasses.
Other ways you can support your child’s eye health is to encourage them to eat certain vision friendly foods. These include leafy vegetables, fish, omega-3 fatty acids such as avocados, and citrus foods that contain a high amount of Vitamin C and zinc. Eating these foods promotes eye health and prevents certain eye diseases, like cataracts, from occurring.
Children’s Eye Care
This month, it’s all about making sure your child is absolutely vision-ready and healthy for the new school year, so be sure to schedule an appointment with an eye doctor soon. Any eye issues need to be addressed right away. If you’re looking for a great doctor to heal any issues your child may have, consider Advanced Eye Medical. With care and professionalism, we aim to bring the best eye care to all patients.