The development of vision begins upon the infant's coming out into the world. The eyes transfer visual information to the brain, information through which the brain cells develop and take on the function of deciphering the information in order to achieve good visual acuity. If the visual information that reaches the brain cells is not high quality, these cells will not develop properly. Therefore, if the eyes do not transfer a clear, sharp image, vision may be compromised, and if this is not diagnosed in time, irreversible damage may be caused.
Therefore, wearing glasses already from childhood improves vision in this important stage of our lives and is important for the normal and complete development of vision.
There are several cases where a child should wear glasses:
1. Alignment of the eyes in case of strabismus (ocular misalignment- squint).
2. Improvement of vision in a condition of myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism.
3. Improvement of vision in an eye with anisometropia.
4. Protection from damage to a single eye, when the vision in the other eye is impaired.
Important advice: a child who does not wear glasses when this is necessary is at risk of developing amblyopia ('lazy eye').
What is nearsightedness?
A nearsighted child sees clearly from up close and is not capable of properly seeing distant objects. In most cases, the onset of nearsightedness is at school age, and it intensifies during adolescence
.
What will the child complain about?
The child complains that he has difficulty seeing what is written on the classroom board or the television. You may see the child blink when trying so see distant objects.
What is farsightedness?
Farsightedness is mainly common among children. The majority of children have some farsightedness at the young age, and that is normal, however, they do not need glasses.
High farsightedness in children causes vision blurring both for near and far, and if not treated can cause amblyopia ('lazy eye') and strabismus (ocular misalignment- squint).
What will the child complain about?
The child may complain of headaches that intensify during reading, there may be difficulty in learning to read and write, and strabismus (squint) may also appear. However, you should keep in mind that in many cases there will be no complaints at all, and the condition will only be discovered during a routine examination.
What is astigmatism /cylinder?
Astigmatism is irregular curvature of the surface of the eye. The child will not see fine details from up close or from far. The degree of astigmatism usually does not change during the course of life.
What will the child complain about?
The child may come near to the television, comes near to the page while doing schoolwork or reading. There may not be complaints and only during a routine examination, will a difficulty in reading and farseeing be discovered.
What is anisometropia (a refraction difference between the two eyes).
When there is a gap between the refractions of the two eyes, that is, each eye has a different 'number'. In this condition, amblyopia ('lazy eye') may develop. And sometimes additional treatment for amblyopia is required in order to enable normal vision development.
How do we test to see whether the child needs glasses in infancy or before the child learns to speak?
The child should have a comprehensive eye exam by an ophthalmologist, including pupil dilation with dilation drops. After the dilation, a test is performed for determining the prescription number for the glasses, which does not require cooperation from the patient. Therefore, it is possible to diagnose whether a young child is in need of glasses even before he/she is able to speak.
How to buy suitable glasses for the child?
Fitting the right frame is important for the treatment as well as for the parents and child's feeling.
Important recommendations:
1. The frame's border must cover the eye up to the brow line. With young children, a round frame is preferable.
In this way, we will prevent them from wanting to look by tilting the head and not through the lenses.
2. The glasses must be well supported by either a shoelace around the head or good support of the handles on the ears.
3. You should pay attention that the glasses do not slip off the nose, and if there is a nose pad, that the nose pad does not press and leave a mark on the nose.