Three Reasons Your Child May Need Prescription Lenses
Although there are many possible eye conditions your child could develop that would require some form of treatment and remediation, there are only a few common causes of the need for glasses. The following are a few reasons to consider corrective lenses for our child.
1. Myopia
Also known as nearsightedness, this condition can develop during childhood and is more likely if the child in question has nearsighted parents. However, it's not a certainty, and you can lessen your child's chances of developing myopia by encouraging outdoor play and enforcing frequent "eye breaks" during periods of concentrated reading, TV watching, or using a computer or other device. Nearsightedness develops when the child's lenses develop in slightly the wrong shape, making it difficult to focus on objects that are far away. Because children are constantly growing and their bodies are constantly changing size and shape, this condition can develop at any point throughout childhood. Fortunately, the problem is relatively easy to correct with prescription lenses.
2. Astigmatism
Astigmatism distorts the vision in a way that can cause a number of problems such as blurry vision, double vision, and frequent headaches. It's caused by a focusing problem that originates in the shape of the cornea, making it difficult or impossible to see clearly. This problem is not limited to distant objects like myopia is. However, astigmatism does often occur in conjunction with another vision problem such as myopia. If your child squints constantly, not only when looking into the distance, astigmatism may be involved. Other symptoms of eye strain that you may observe in your child include tearing up, closing eyes to rest them, rubbing eyes frequently, and rapid blinking.
3. Unequal vision
Even if your child seems to be able to see well and you haven't noticed any eye strain, it's possible that he or she is only seeing clearly with one eye. Sometimes eye problems occur only in one eye or with more severity in one eye than in the other. This condition is called Anisometropia and can be corrected by using corrective lenses if it's caught early enough. If not caught and corrected, the eye with less effective vision may lag behind the other eye more and more until it develops a condition called ambylopia, which requires more aggressive treatment. Although both of these conditions are treatable, they can cause a lot of stress and trauma for your child if not treated early on due to the impossibility of focusing with both eyes. This is one reason why it's crucial to get regular eye exams for your child.
These three problems are all fairly common, but can be treated by an optometrist, such as Bergh-White Opticians, Inc., by the use of corrective lenses. By having regular eye exams for your child and keeping an eye out for any signs of distress (such as headaches, difficulty reading, irritated eyes, and so on) you can ensure that any of these problems your child may develop are treated as early as possible.