Take a minute and think about the different aspects of your child’s health care:
- Scheduled checkups with a pediatrician? Check.
- Immunization schedule? Check.
- Routine visits with a dentist? Check.
- Eye exam? Hmmm. Let’s see. Well, sure. Doesn’t the pediatrician handle that? Maybe a school nurse? Or is that more for an eyecare professional?
When it comes to our kids’ eye health and good vision, sometimes it isn’t clear who is responsible for what.
Indeed, most parents rely on family practice providers or their kids’ pediatricians to indicate when an eye exam might be necessary. That’s certainly a good place to start, but should parents take an extra step and schedule comprehensive eye exams for their children?
To find out, we asked two ophthalmologists from Davis Duehr Dean: Sarah Groessl, MD and Mansoor Movaghar, MD. Both offer significant expertise and experience in Pediatric Ophthalmology, a subspecialty you won’t find at strip-mall optical stores and discount retail chains.
“Generally, without a reason to do so, parents don’t need to schedule a comprehensive eye exam for their children,” says Dr. Groessl. “However, every child needs to be screened for potential vision problems. If something is revealed in a screening, no matter how minor, that’s when a thorough eye exam should take place.”
Dr. Movaghar explains how multiple screenings increase the likelihood of discovering a problem with a child’s vision. “Pediatricians and primary care providers do screenings from a medical standpoint, looking for problems and establishing baselines. Sometimes a school nurse might identify a problem. Healthcare professionals at a community health fair may notice something. Parents often know when something isn’t quite right or when their own family history might play a role. I even had a case where a babysitter for a child discovered a significant problem while playing a peek-a-boo-type game. For the most effective detection, we all must work together. Any given screening might not be perfect in detecting a problem, but the odds improve greatly with multiple screenings.”
“The key is early identification,” says Dr. Groessl. “When that happens, a child can get in to see us, and often the solutions are much easier and far less invasive than if more time elapses. That’s why good screenings are important. Generally, screenings should start when a child reaches three years old and continue during all subsequent well-child checks.”
It’s easy to see the ripple effect of less-than-optimal vision. Certainly, school performance is affected if a child is unable to clearly see things like blackboards, smartboards, posters, video monitors and books. Imagine the difficulty in reading (and improving reading comprehension) if a vision impairment prevents proper recognition of letters and their shapes. In fact, things like motor skill development and even social development can be affected, too. Simply, a vision problem can lead to a learning problem, and from there, a constant struggle to catch up.
So what can parents look for when evaluating their children? According to Dr. Movaghar, “It’s very important to look for misalignment. Pediatricians look for this, but parents can, too. The medical term for this condition is strabismus, and when we catch it early, the treatments are very effective.”
Dr. Groessl agrees. “The earlier we can catch an eye muscle imbalance the better, because the longer a problem goes undetected, the harder it is to correct. Some types of asymmetry, especially in early stages, are difficult for parents to see, but primary care providers can usually spot it and refer a child to us.”
In addition to misalignment, be sure to tell your doctor if your child has or displays any of these conditions:
- A history of prematurity or learning difficulties
- Delayed motor development
- Excessive blinking or frequent eye rubbing
- Failure to maintain eye contact
- Inability to maintain a fixation while looking at objects
- Poor eye tracking skills
Finally, make sure your child’s doctor knows about any family history that might play a role, as there definite family traits that kids inherit beyond just eye color.
For most kids, refractive correction (otherwise known as glasses) is the most effective solution. In cases of strabismus, a treatment program of eye patches is very effective—sort of like physical therapy for the brain. In a relatively small number of cases, surgery is necessary to correct a vision problem. But in every case, time is never an ally.
“When parents work together with healthcare providers, we can identify problems right away and begin treatment,” says Dr. Movaghar. “With a team-centered approach, starting at an early age, your child can count on a lifetime of good vision.”
To schedule an eye exam for your child or family members of any age, call the Davis Duehr Dean location nearest you.
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