The Importance Of Pediatric Eyecare

By Martin Woods

December 21st, 2021

With the advent of electronic devices like televisions, computers, gaming stations and other gadgets, today’s kids are more hooked to the monitors like never before. And when you add normal daily activities like reading, writing, painting etc. with these, the amount of stress that the kids’ eyes have to bear is immense. The need of pediatric eyecare has always been there, but somehow it has acquired more significance in recent years.

We usually do not feel the need of taking our kids for an eye check-up, until they start showing some eye disorders. But that should not be the case. Most of the kids are born with healthy, normal eyes with perfect eyesight. But there are few kids who are born with some serious eye diseases or disorders. Most cases of such infant eye problems can be treated thanks to early medical intervention. But if these eye disorders are left untreated, it can lead to some serious or even permanent vision loss.

To avoid such a scenario, it is crucial to follow a structured process of pediatric eyecare. Usually, there are basic eye examinations done for every newborn by the pediatrician. However, it is suggested that the first detailed eye examination for the kids should be done at the age of 6 months, followed by another at the age of 2 years. This should be followed up by annual eye examination to ensure that even if there are any possibilities of eye disorders, your proactive approach on pediatric eyecare will detect them.

Another strong reason that you should continue with the annual eye examination is because until your kids reach a certain age, most often they cannot express problems associated with their bodies which includes eyes as well. But a pediatric eye doctor or an ophthalmologist can easily detect if there are any eye diseases in your kids.

On the contrary, as parents, it is usually us who have more possibility to detect the signs of eye problems in our kids. Constant redness in the eyes, or the kids rubbing them frequently, are generally the tell-tale signs that your kids must be having some discomfort with the eyes. If such thing happens, there shouldn’t be any delay on your part to take your kids to a pediatric eye doctor.

Even if your kids’ eyes looks normal, but you suspect that there are some problems, do not hesitate to consult an ophthalmologist for proper examinations. Sometimes things like family history of eye problems (including high-powered glasses worn from an early age or loss of vision during childhood) can be a strong reason for an early pediatric eyecare. Post screening of your kids’ eyes, the pediatric eye doctor may suggest if there are any further diagnoses required or not.

Again, there are many cases in which the kids do not have visual clarity in one of the eyes. In simple words, the kids do not see clearly with one of the eyes because of refractive errors (spectacle number). Human brains are conditioned in such a way that if it does not receive visual images from the defective eye for a long time, eventually the brain completely “shuts off” that eye. This can lead to permanent vision loss. Often, these kinds of eye disorders go undetected as the kids learn to read and see with one eye. An early eye examination can prevent this from happening as each eye is checked separately, and this problem can be easily diagnosed by the ophthalmologist.

Now we know the importance of a pediatric eye care. Even if you think that your kids’ eyes are perfect and do not have any disorders, as a precautionary measure, an eye examination should be routinely done. After all, your kids’ eyes are most precious to you, as through these eyes they see this beautiful world. Most importantly, they see you. So, why not take proper care of them?