14th, May 2019 | Oh Jinna
Warning Signs that Your Child has Eye Problems
Children’s curiosity is hugely aroused by the things that they see. At a young age, they are still starting to appreciate the world and its wonders. Some children, however, are deprived of this privilege because they have poor eyesight.
This is the reason why it is important for parents to detect the warning signs of poor eyesight among their children as early as possible.
1. Squinting
Do your children wrinkle their faces and squint their eyes in a struggle to clearly see something that is either near or far away? If they do, your children may have vision problems.
Squinting is one of the warning signs of poor eyesight among children. This may hint that your children have refractive errors.
Refractive error is a common eye problem that affects the way that the eye focuses on an image.
This condition happens because light is not directly focused on the retina due to the shape of the eye.
Squinting helps children to slightly change the shape of their eyes. Squinting temporarily improves their visual focus on an image or object. This is a temporary fix and can be very cumbersome in the long run.
If you catch your children constantly squinting to see something clearly, then it’s time to schedule an appointment with your eye doctor.
2. Holding Digital Devices or Books Close to Their Faces
Do your children sit too close to the television and hold phones or tablets close to their faces to clearly see the images on the screen? Do they hold their books too close to their faces to read the text?
These habits are warning signs that your children may be nearsighted.
When a child is nearsighted, they can clearly see objects that are near them, but objects that are farther away can appear blurry.
Nearsightedness happens when the light rays refract incorrectly because of the shape of the eye. The light rays focus in front of the retina, instead of directly on its surface.
When you notice your children holding their devices or books close to their faces, visit your eye doctor immediately.
Since nearsightedness is a very common eye condition, it can be confirmed through a basic eye examination. Nearsightedness can be compensated through wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses.
Can’t decide between eyeglasses or contact lenses? Read CONTACT LENSES OR GLASSES: WHICH IS BETTER FOR YOU?
3. Tilting Their Heads or Covering One Eye
Do you notice your children tilting their heads or covering one eye to clearly see something that is far away? This may be an indication that your children have amblyopia, otherwise known as lazy eye.
Amblyopia is one of the most common eye conditions among children. This happens because the eyes are misaligned, and one eye is more nearsighted or farsighted than the other eye.
Covering one eye is a child’s temporary solution to see clearly and it is somewhat similar to patching.
Patching is one of the ways used to treat amblyopia wherein a patch is placed over the strong eye to stimulate the weak eye. The patch may be worn from weeks to months.
Having amblyopia can be very inconvenient to children as they grow up. To prevent amblyopia from being permanent, it should be treated during early childhood.
4. Not Doing Well in School
There are many reasons why your children are doing bad in school, but did you know that having poor eyesight is also one of the reasons?
In school, children have to constantly change their visual focus. This means that they have to constantly switch from looking at something near like their notebook, and then looking at something far like the computer or the board.
If a child has problems with their visual focus, it can affect the child’s concentration in school, which may soon affect their grades.
Children are also visual learners, so the instructional materials that the teachers use in schools are made to be visually pleasing to the children. What happens when your children have poor eyesight?
Their minds will wander and they will think about things that seem to be more interesting. This may also lead to a decrease in their performance in school.
To avoid these things, or to save your children’s failing marks, make sure to bring your children to see an eye doctor for a basic eye examination.
5. Constant Rubbing of Eyes
Children rub their eyes due to various reasons like sleepiness, itchiness, allergies, etc. Excessive rubbing of the eyes can also be an indication that your children has eye fatigue or eye strain.
These conditions can be warning signs of other more serious eye problems.
If a child has eye strain, they may experience headache, eye pain, poor concentration, etc. Daily activities like using digital gadgets and reading for a long period of time can cause eye strain.
To know more about eye strain and their causes, read THESE THINGS CAN HELP YOU PREVENT EYE STRAIN.
If your children are constantly rubbing their eyes, advise them to stop doing it. And then, visit your eye doctor to check if your children have other eye problems that cause your children to rub their eyes.
6. Headaches
Have your children been constantly complaining about headaches? When you hear these complaints, poor eyesight is the last thing that usually comes into a parent’s mind.
When children have poor eyesight, they have to exert extra effort to see things clearly. To compensate for their blurry vision, they have to squint their eyes, tilt their heads, or cover one eye, among others.
Because they have been overcompensating and exerting too much effort just to see clearly, it is natural for children to feel headaches.
To save your children from the hassle of dealing with headaches and poor eyesight, visit your eye doctor immediately and ask for advice before their condition gets worse.
7. Sensitivity to Light
Children that are overly sensitive to light from sunlight, fluorescent light, camera flashes, and other light sources may have photophobia.
Photophobia, otherwise known as light sensitivity, causes discomfort to people when they are exposed to bright lights.
Because of the sensitivity, children will have the impulse to squint or close their eyes when they are exposed to bright lights. The lights may even cause headaches and nausea.
Photophobia is a symptom of other eye conditions, so if your children are complaining about the lights hurting their eyes, you know the drill.
What to do when your child is experiencing these symptoms
Here are some of the things that you can do when your child is showing any of the mentioned symptoms above:
- Ask your child. If you notice any of the warning signs, ask your child if he or she is having problems in seeing things clearly. You must be patient in doing this, especially if you’re dealing with younger children.
Convince your children to describe their discomfort or problems to you in detail, so that you can clearly relay the same message to your eye doctor during your appointment.
As we all know, most of the children are afraid of doctors, so they might have a hard time explaining their discomfort to the doctor. - Consult your eye doctor. As soon as you notice the symptoms and get the necessary information from your child, immediately set an appointment with your eye doctor.
Basically, your child will undergo eye examinations to determine if he or she has any serious eye problems. Early detection of these problems is essential so as not to make the conditions worse.
The eye doctor can also determine if your child has to wear eyeglasses. It may hurt a parent’s heart to see their children wear eyeglasses at such a young age.
But if the doctor thinks that it’s necessary to prevent further damages on the eyes, then it is better to follow the doctor’s advice.
Read more from the sources that we trust:
https://www.verywellhealth.com/top-signs-your-child-needs-vision-correction-3421600
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