How to Protect Your Kids From Vision Problems
Nearly three-quarters of American adults sport either eyeglasses or corrective contact lenses to help improve their vision, so says Statistic Brain. When you look around the professional realm and see the myriad trendy frames that have become quite fashionable today, that statistic not particularly surprising. But an interesting question to ask, given all this data, is: Can vision problems be prevented altogether with better early age eye care?
Pediatric eye doctors everywhere are seeking the answers. Just like a pediatrician offers general physician services for children alone, pediatrics optometrists specialize in their eye health, including vision checkups, disease screenings and more.
However, there’s a lot more to good ocular health than meets the eye.
As a parent, you want the best for your children. You don’t want them to squint and struggle to see the blackboard at school. You don’t want them to play with dangerous toys that could potentially damage their vision permanently for life. You want them to have all the opportunities you never had (especially when it comes to better healthcare). That’s why it’s important to focus on two key areas of eye care:
Regular Eye Exams
The best way to get your child on track for a lifetime of lasting ocular health is to book an official appointment with a good optometrist while they’re still quite young. We’re talking infants here, by the way, because the sooner, the better. Though a pediatrician or a nurse can do a basic vision test at a regular checkup, pediatric eye doctors have special training which allows them to screen for eye diseases early on — even for kids as young as six months. You should find an eye doctor you trust and one who can familiarize himself or herself with your children’s eyes when they’re still young and growing.
Lingering unchecked vision problems can wreak havoc for children once they begin school. If kids can’t see the chalkboard, they risk falling behind or losing comprehension of the lesson at hand. This leads to lower grades and more frustration, but it can typically be monitored plenty in advance of the child entering elementary school via regular eye checkups. It’s not all on the doctors to ensure good eye care, though.
Responsible Parenting
Now comes the part where parents are reminded to do their part in ensuring a child doesn’t lose any vision prematurely. Yes, that includes eliminating toys that have sharp corners. Yes, that includes watching out for cloudy or hazy pupils in their infants’ eyes. Yes, it also includes protecting kids’ eyes from damaging UV rays with either sunglasses or shelter on sunny days.
Diet can also play into responsible eye health, in certain cases just as much as a pediatric eye doctor can. Fruits, vegetables, nuts and fish are all great for vision, especially salmon, shrimp, tuna, catfish and pollock. Though these can’t prevent vision problems entirely — indeed, some children simply do better when they’re prescribed eyeglasses or contact lenses — they do help maintaining overall health, which often goes hand-in-hand with ocular health.
You know the basics, so why settle for sub-par eye care for your kids? Maybe with advanced care, it’ll be 75% of American adults who don’t wear corrective lenses by the time your children become as old as you are. More can be found here: www.visioncorner.com
