“Let the child be the scriptwriter, the director and the actor in his own play.” – Magda Gerber. As parents let’s be responsible to take care and priortize their health and their eyes as it is the window of the soul…
Little eyes, Big dreams, Prioritize Children eye health
Vision is very important for success in our life. If vision suffers, then it hampers one’s learning ability, overall personality development and adjustment in school. Refractive error is a more common eye disorder which is treatable.
Kids spend most of their time playing after school hours which requires good vision. It isn’t fun playing games if one can’t see well.
Refractive error is the most common problem seen in school-going kids which goes unrecognised most of the time.
Some of the warning signs for refractive error—
- Consistently sitting too close to the TV while watching/ holding books too close to read.
- Frequent headaches and tired eyes.
- Frequent eye rubbing and redness of eyes.
- Tilting of the head in an attempt to see clearly.
- Crossing/ squinting of eyes.
- Increased sensitivity to light.
- Avoiding near work which requires good vision.
- Closing one eye to read/watch TV to see better.
- Getting lower grades in school/ learning disabilities.
Parents, teachers as well as caretakers must be aware of these warning symptoms so that timely treatment can be sought and permanent blindness can be avoided.
Strabismus/squint—
Have you ever wondered why some kids have eyes going in different directions while looking at the particular object of interest/ eyes don’t look straight ahead?
These kids have a condition called squint/ strabismus- where the eyes can turn in towards the nose or turn out towards the ears. In either case, the images of objects don’t fall on the retina and they double images or kids slowly develop Lazy Eyes also called Amblyopia.
When to get eyes checked by an eye doctor?
When kids exhibit any of these eye problems, noticed by parents or teachers, an appointment with your ophthalmologist is warranted where the kids are checked for myopia (near-sightedness), hypermetropia (long-sightedness) or astigmatism.
These common refractive errors can be treated by glasses and eye exercises.
For kids diagnosed with squint, some are treated with glasses alone and some require straightening of their eyes by surgery. Those with lazy eyes require treatment with glasses along with patching of good eye to stimulate the squinting eye.
For any problem mentioned above, starting treatment early helps improve one’s vision.
Last but not least, eyes also should be taken care during playing, any injury however trivial warrants an eye checkup. Care to be taken while bursting crackers, especially for kids as one is exposed to heat, chemicals and dust which can cause irreparable eye damage.
Myth
One can improve vision with eye exercises
Fact
Eye exercises will not improve or preserve the vision or reduce the need for glasses. One’s vision depends on various factors that cannot be changed by eye exercises.
Myth
Eating carrots/ green leafy vegetables will improve vision and avoid glasses
Fact
Eating foods which are rich in Vitamin A, B12, B6, Folic acid and other micro and macronutrients will help one maintain eye health and thereby good eyesight. It won’t help you improve vision or help you avoid using glasses or contact lens.