Children's Eye Exams
Myopia and amblyopia are the most common serious visual disorders in children. These are both treatable and outcomes are best when caught as a young child. A childs first eye exam should be performed at the age of 6-12 months.
If you are noticing any of the following they should be seen by an Optometrist:
- Frequent squinting
- Rubbing eyes often
- Sitting close to the television
- Holding books close to their face
- Frequent headaches
- Complaining of double vision
- Covering one eye at a time while looking at things
- Tilting their head to one side
- Misaligned eye
If you suspect that your child may have vision problems, please call and book an appointment. Children under the age of 18 are covered under the Saskatchewan Health Card yearly.
Amblyopia (lazy eye) is when one eye doesn’t develop clear vision because it isn’t used as much as the other eye. The most common cause of this is eye turn and/or difference in prescription between the two eyes. This condition is reversible if caught and treated at an early age.
Myopia (nearsightedness) is the condition where light focuses in front of the retina. As a child is growing if the length of the eyeball continues to grow their myopia will increase. Evidence based treatments are now available to significantly reduce growth of the eyeball in a child. Slowing the increase in myopia results in smaller prescription and fewer lens changes. Higher myopia results in retinal stretching which causes increased risk of myopic maculopathy, retinal detachment, cataracts, and glaucoma.
