4 Serious Childrens Vision Problems to Look Out For

Clear vision and healthy eyes are extremely important for your child’s development and well-being. Here is a guide to the most common kids vision problems and why your little one needs to visit the optometrist regularly.

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Vision plays a key role in every aspect of a child’s development, which is why it’s so important to ensure that their eyes stay healthy and their vision remains clear. As a parent, you must schedule regular eye exams with your kid’s optometrist because undetected and uncorrected vision problems can:

• Lead to poor social development
• Result in vision loss
• Interfere with learning
• Hinder your child’s development
• Lead to poor athletic performance

Gentle and Friendly Kids and Family Optometrists in NW Calgary

At Blink Eyewear, we have a team of highly qualified and dedicated kids and family optometrists. We offer a wide range of services from children’s eye exams and emergency eye care, to contact lens fittings and glaucoma testing, to ensure that the vision of your entire family remains clear and comfortable.

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CONTACT OUR NW FAMILY OPTOMETRISTS

4 Kids Vision Problems All Parents Must Watch Out For

During a comprehensive eye exam, your kid’s optometrist will test for common vision problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. However, during this checkup, the optometrist will also examine your kid’s eyes for signs of more serious vision problems, such as:

1. Focusing Problems: Children who have a focusing problem tend to have difficulty changing from distance to near and back again. They may also have difficulty maintaining adequate focus for tasks such as reading. When detected early by a qualified kid’s optometrist, this issue can be successfully treated with vision therapy.
2. Amblyopia: Also referred to as ‘lazy eye’, amblyopia is a leading cause of vision loss in children. It leads to decreased vision in one or both eyes that cannot be corrected by glasses or contact lenses. Early detection through an eye exam is critical in diagnosing and treating lazy eye. Some treatment options include wearing an eye patch or using eye drops.
3. Convergence Insufficiency: This is the inability of some children to keep the eye comfortably aligned when doing near tasks such as reading. If detected early, your kid’s eye doctor can treat it successfully with vision therapy and develop a specific program of eye exercises for your child’s needs.
4. Strabismus: Also commonly known as ‘crossed eyes’, Strabismus is a misalignment of the eyes resulting from a lack of coordination of the eye muscles. Because this vision problem can be hard to detect, comprehensive eye exams are key to detect and treat it early, preventing possible vision loss.

6 Simple Tips For Protecting Your Child’s Vision

While there are certain vision problems that you cannot prevent, it’s important to teach your child healthy habits from a young age to help protect their eyesight and eye health. Here are 6 simple tips to get you started:

1. Ensure a healthy diet: Make sure your child eats a lot of green and red leafy vegetables such as carrots, beetroot, and spinach. Yellow fruits such as papayas and mangoes that have carotene in huge quantities are also key for healthy eyes.
2. Set hours for computer use: If your child has the habit of staring at the computer screen for long hours, this is something you should address. Have specific hours that he/she can use the computer and make sure they take frequent breaks during computer use to avoid eye exhaustion.
3. Avoid playing mobile video games for too long: Excessive indulgence in games could cause your child to develop digital eye strain. This may lead to uneasiness in the eyes, hazy images, headaches, and exhaustion.
4. Stop the use of unsafe toys: Always supervise your child when they’re playing at home and instruct them not to play with sharp toys or anything that can harm their eyes.
5. Visit your kid’s optometrist regularly: Not only does this result in clearer vision, but also in better school performance and reduced symptoms of vision related problems such as headaches and short attention spans.
6. Encourage your little one to wear sunglasses: These are essential for protecting your child’s eyes against harmful UV rays and its consequences, such as dry eyes or eye sunburn.

Call Today

To find out more about how our friendly and caring family optometrists can help keep your kid’s vision clear and eyes healthy, or to learn more about our ocular healthcare services, visit one of our three branches, Crowfoot (67 Crowfoot Terrace NW, T3G 4J8), West Springs (1009 873 85 St SW, T3H 0J5) or Creekside (12192 Symons Valley Rd NW, T3P 0A3).

Alternatively, you can contact our team at our Crowfoot Branch (403-547-5417), West Springs (403-242-0999) or Creekside (403-516-2292).