Childrens Eye Care
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What is good practice?
All newborn babies should be screened before they leave hospital to ensure that their eyes are working properly. Your health visitor then carries out a 39 month assessment and their excellent work is a major source of prompt referral to the optometrist for more detailed investigation if required.
All children should have a full eye exam before they go to primary school, and regularly thereafter (at 12-18 month intervals). Research has shown that visual system development is largely complete by the age of 8, after which age there is little scope for improvement in lazy eyes, and the earlier treatment is started the better the possible results.
Remember all children's eye examinations are paid for by the NHS and all of our optometrists will be delighted to look at your child's eyes, no matter how young your child is.
What do we find?
Thankfully, in the vast majority of cases, There is nothing at all wrong ? lovely, healthy eyes, working well together. Occasionally, however, long-sightedness, unnoticed by the parent or school unless there is a consequential squint, short-sightedness, asymmetrical (one eye) errors, partial colour vision abnormalities and a whole range of (thankfully rare) eye diseases, some of which can cause irretrievable sight damage if they are not recognised and treated early.
If we do find something, what next?
Sometimes eye exercises will be required, with or without specs. Spectacle frames for children nowadays come in attractive colours and are often branded with Action Man, Barbie, Dennis The Menace, Harry Potter or a variety of other characters to help make wearing specs feel like fun.
Contact lenses are also increasingly recommended as a best choice for children. As the contact lens wear schedules are becoming simpler (see Contact Lenses section) this is becoming a more practical option for all children.
Dyslexia
Learning difficulties and dyslexia are becoming better understood. The optometrist has an increasing role to play in the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions, which have only recently started to be picked up before they cause major difficulties at school and upset for both children and their parents.
We have recently established specialist clinics in Edinburgh and Glasgow for the assessment and management of dyslexia in children. Research has shown that for many dyslexics the use of special tinted lenses can dramatically improve reading skills and quality of life.
For more information contact Alison Sydserff on 0141 221 8062 or Tracey Cook on 0131 336 3004