I examined Michael Sage's eyes yesterday. Michelle posts about it here. He's a bit on the chunky side, but his eyes are fine.A few quick notes on pediatric eye exams ...
While pediatricians perform a base-level eye screening, looking for any gross abnormalities, it's important to have an eye care professional perform a more comprehensive eye examination. There have been many cases in which I've found a subtle problem that was not detected at a screening which, if not addressed early, could have turned in to a much more significant problem later on.
A child should have his first exam between 6-12 months of age. If no problems are found at that visit, then the next exams should be every 18-24 months.
Some of the things I look for at a pediatric eye exam may include:
- gross visual acuity
- refractive errors (myopia/hyperopia/astigmatism)
- eye teaming and alignment (vertical/horizontal phoria or strabismus)
- development of eye muscles (accuracy and range)
- comprehensive examination of eye health (from lids/cornea to the retina/optic nerve)
Vision and eye health problems in infants are not common, but it is important to identify children who have them at a young age, as they are easier to correct if treatment begins early.
Prevalence of Vision Problems and Eye Diseases That Will Develop in Children
- 1 in 10 children is at risk from undiagnosed vision problems
- 1 in 30 children will be affected by amblyopia – often referred to as lazy eye – a leading cause of vision loss in people younger than 45 years
- 1 in 25 will develop strabismus – more commonly known as crossed-eyes – a risk factor for amblyopia
- 1 in 33 will show significant refractive error such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism
- 1 in 100 will exhibit evidence of eye disease – e.g. glaucoma
- 1 in 20,000 children have retinoblastoma (intraocular cancer) the seventh most common pediatric cancer
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