Pediatric Eye Care

Taking care of your children’s eyes are important to the overall health and well being of your kids. Taking them to the optometrist and orthoptists should become a regular habit and routine. Pediatric eye care is vastly different from adult eye care in terms of size. Not only are the eyes of children smaller, the developmental characteristics result in unique sets of eye problems that have no parallel in adults. For example the condition of lazy eyes that were developed early in childhood can be treated when the cause is corrected early. In adults, most cases of lazy eyes can no longer be corrected.

Testing of vision is also different. Even when the child is unable to respond, pediatric eye optometrists can determine a qualitative measure of the child’s visual acuity through various specialized charts and equipment.

Refraction is another difference between adults and children. Children tend to have pseudo myopia or false nearsightedness, or pseudo-emmetropia when in fact they are really far-sighted. Letting them wear prescription glasses without a complete pediatric eye examination is a dangerous thing. The eyes of children are first allowed to rest with the use of eye drops so that the real grade of their eyes can be determined