May 29 - 15 | One of the most common questions that Optometrists field at their
children’s activities – play groups, dance, hockey, soccer, karate, music etc. –
has got to be… “When should kids get their first eye test?” This question is almost always followed by “[child’s
name] seems to be doing great… I’m not noticing anything wrong”.
As an Optometrist, I am trained to look for visual problems. However, without testing, I would have completely
missed that both of my two daughters needed glasses at a young age. My girls are now 11 and 14 and their story
happened long ago but a conversation with an upset parent last month prompted
me to write and blog the story in hopes that more kids will be tested at
younger ages.
The upset mom had brought her 11 year old daughter – Sara
(name changed) - in for her first eye exam.
There were no complaints. Sara
did well in school but was having trouble with sports and her accuracy shooting
a basketball. Upon examination it was
found that Sara only saw well from one eye.
This was a complete surprise to her and her mom. Sara’s right eye vision was an excellent 20/20
with no glasses. However, because of a
significant amount of farsightedness, her best vision from the left eye was far
less at only 20/50. Poor, uncorrectable
vision from one eye is called amblyopia or lazy eye. It occurs when one eye dominates the visual
system development period between birth and ~8yrs. In her case, Sara’s right eye developed normally
but because her left eye was never given a clear image, the visual system never
developed to a high resolution. Because
of the imbalance, her visual system never fully integrated right and left. This lack-of-integration limited her depth
perception but was not - in any way – evident in her daily life.
Amblyopia can be treated if caught earlier enough! Sara’s mom was upset because, in most cases,
the ‘lazy’ eye can be righted when tackled early enough in a child’s life. Unfortunately Sara was past the window to best
correct. There is some newer evidence
that the window may be longer that was thought when I was in school however,
the most effective treatment happens earlier in life.
It is critical that you have children’s vision tested before
their 3rd birthday. There are
generally no signs nor symptoms to mild imbalance of vision and just as I would
have missed it with my daughters, you cannot rely on observation or the child
to report a problem.
