Most parents start to worry any time their child is showing physical symptoms of illness. After all, we want our children to be as healthy as possible so they can live their lives to the fullest. The tricky part is that children can’t always verbally express when they don’t feel well or when there might be a health concern – especially when it comes to eyesight. As parents, its important to take time from your hectic schedules of work, school, childcare and activities to monitor your child’s eye health. Watch for warning signs that your child might be having problems seeing clearly. The obvious symptom would be a child who always sits close to the TV or holds a book close to their eyes to read. Sometimes vision problems can cause children to get frequent headaches, rub their eyes often, squint or get bothered by bright lights. Children can even get poor grades in school or withdraw from social activities because they simply can’t see.

If your child displays any of these symptoms, contact our pediatric ophthalmologists at Azul Vision to arrange a pediatric eye exam. In addition to diagnosing refractive error problems (nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism), we can also diagnose and treat:

• Amblyopia (lazy eye)
• Strambismus (crossed eyes)
• Congenital cataracts

Vision Screenings & Eye Exams

It’s possible that your child won’t display any outward symptoms that something is wrong with their vision. That’s why it’s so important to schedule regular vision screenings or eye exams. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends that vision screenings be done by a pediatrician or family doctor on this schedule:

• Newborn: check for the presence of a red reflex when light is shown into the eyes (to diagnose congenital cataracts), check blink and pupil response
• 6-12 months: check eye alignment, eye movement and other tests
• 12-36 months: look for healthy eye development
• 3-5 years: check for visual acuity, eye alignment and other vision problems
• 5 years and up: check for visual acuity, eye alignment and other vision problems

School-aged children should have an eye exam every 2 years or participate in school vision screenings at minimum. Eye exams by an ophthalmologist will be especially important if your family has any history of eye disease.

Our team of pediatric ophthalmologists at Azul Vision are trained to help children achieve their best vision for success in life. We’d be honored to care for your child, too.