Posts tagged ‘Eye care’
Keep your child’s eyes healthy
A child should get his eyes checked by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist at least once a year.
Being aware of children’s normal visual milestones will enable parents to look out for problems, writes Sushma Veera
A CHILD learns about the world from what he sees and observes daily. With his eyes, he would be able to recognise his parents’ faces and things around him.
A child’s vision goes through tremendous change and growth, a critical part of healthy development.
When a child has vision problems, he might face learning and developmental issues and difficulty in performing everyday tasks.
Specialist consultant opthalmologist, cornea,cataract and refractive surgeon Dr Ainur Rahman Anuar Masduki of Vista Eye says common eye problems relating to vision usually manifest when the child is between 18 months and 4 years old.
To ensure good vision, parents must be aware of the normal visual milestones, such as having a child undergo formal eye assessments by an optometrist or ophthalmologist as early as 3. Two of the most common but important issues include squinting (strabismus or crossed eye) and uneven focus leading to lazy eye (amblyopia).
“Refractive errors including short and long-sightedness and astigmatism are common among older children, affecting 30 per cent of them, depending on populations studied,” says Dr Ainur.
THE IMPORTANCE OF EYE EXAMS
According to Dr Ainur, the visual centre of the brain is fully developed by 6. He says it is important to keep a mindful eye on the child’s normal visual milestones during this time.
“If you notice anything unusual about your child’s eyes, or feel that the visual milestones are delayed or are not met for his age, prompt consultation with an optometrist or ophthalmologist is prudent. In general, a child should have his eyes assessed as early as 3, and certainly not later than 7.
“When you are in doubt, even if your baby is only a few days old, prompt consultation with an eye care professional is strongly advised.”
He says children should get their eyes checked by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist at least once a year, especially if they have significant refractive error or other eye-related issues.
Dr Ainur adds that a child might have to wear glasses following a detection of significant refractive error such as short-sightedness, long-sightedness, astigmatism, amblyopia, or strabismus.
“Unequal or uneven focus happens when there is a significant difference in power between eyes, and there is a risk that the child will eventually choose to use one eye preferentially and neglect the poorer seeing eye. As a result, the visual centre in the brain on the side of the poorer seeing eye will be under-developed. If timely intervention is not instituted, this will lead to irreversible poor vision.
“Squints, which is in the form of crossed (esotropia) or wandering eyes (exotropia) may respond to the correction of refractive errors and treatment of amblyopia, if present. Special glasses or lenses may help alleviate squints, but some children may still require surgery to correct significant eye deviations.”
Dr Ainur says while minimal refractive are acceptable, higher degrees of refractive errors can have effects on the development of good vision in a child.
VISUAL ASSESSMENT
If left untreated, he says a child with vision conditions will face a number of issues.
“Teachers often highlight to parents children’s constant mistakes in their writing or homework. Unfortunately, these children are sometimes wrongly described as slow learners, have poor attention, are lazy, dyslexic or even learning-disabled when they may just be suffering from poor vision or its related issues.”
Parents should monitor their children’s progress and refer to a professional for visual assessment to get a correct diagnosis.
“Contrary to popular belief, using glasses early in life, or using high powered glasses will not worsen a child’s eye and cause dependence on glasses. Nothing could be further from the truth and such anecdoctal views are not supported by scientific evidence.
“If a child needs glasses, ensure compliance to glasses during waking hours. Ensure that the child is examined at least annually as glasses’ power will change as he grows.”
Dr Ainur says most children will willingly use their new glasses as they can see more clearly with them.
“Parents should select eyewear based on fit and functionality. The frame should be comfortable and the eye must be in the centre of the lens. Lenses made of polycarbonate are safest for young children as it is shatter-proof.
“Once your child starts wearing glasses, he will go through a transition phase where he may not be comfortable with his eyewear. Parents must explain to their children why they need to wear glasses and be sensitive to their feelings,” he says, adding that it is advisable to keep a spare pair for emergencies.
Dr Ainur says although there is no strong scientific evidence to support the link between any particular diet and eye development and health in children, maintaining a healthy and balanced diet is vital.
“Time spent indoors should be balanced with time spent outdoors to reduce the risk of myopia progressing,” he adds.
VISUAL MILESTONES IN CHILDREN
• Birth: peripheral (side vision).
• 1 month: Fixate on objects (bright lights, faces) up to 3 feet (91cm).
• 2 months: Follow moving objects.
• 3 months: Look towards new sounds and parents’ faces (when spoken to), reach for nearby moving objects.
• 3 to 5 months: Development of visual skills (focusing, convergence, binocular vision, colour discrimination), smile at parents and look at objects across the room.
• 5 to 7 months: Further development of eye-hand coordination. Eyes should appear straight. If not, this should be assessed by optometrists or ophthalmologist.
• 7 to 12 months: Crawl or move towards objects, longer interest in books or TV.
• 12 to 18 months: Improved eye-hand coordination, draw with circles with crayon, stack up blocks.
• 18 months to 2 years: Draw vertical and horizontal strokes, able to walk across different surfaces.
• 2 to 3 years: Hop, run, skip, jump with fewer falls, build tower of blocks, and imitate drawing.
• 4 to 5 years: Draw simple objects, colour colouring book, write letters, tell others about things seen.
Any obvious delay warrants an assessment by an eye care professional.
Read more: Keep your child’s eyes healthy – Health – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/life-times/health/keep-your-child-s-eyes-healthy-1.542254?cache=03D163D03edding-pred-#ixzz2xphGFIVW
via Keep your child’s eyes healthy – Health – New Straits Times.
Eye care – an often neglected concern
PETALING JAYA – How does an individual protect his eyes while continuing to ensure their health?
“Consult an optometrist when the need to protect the eyes arises,” advised an optometrist with Menara Optometry, Khairunisah Muda.
An optometrist is a person who is professionally trained and licensed to examine the eyes for visual defects, diagnose problems or impairments, and prescribe corrective lenses or provide other types of treatment.
Khairunisah said there are two eye conditions that people have to be aware of, the pathological and physiological.
A pathological condition requires medical treatment, including surgery, for conditions such as the presence of cataracts, while a physiological condition needs vision therapy consideration, where most of the time it is to correct an ophthalmic muscle weakness or blurred vision.
Buying affordable sunglasses seems to be the choice most would prefer today. Some choose to opt for the cheaper ones sold by roadside peddlers.
“As tourists, you can get them cheap from peddlers selling at places of attractions. I have seen this in many Arab countries, because it sure is bright and sunny over there.
“Sunglasses are sold cheap, below SR20 (Saudi Riyal), in Makkah and Medina. In fact, for SR10 (or RM8), you can already bring sunglasses home,” teenager Hazirah Abdul Rahman said, sharing her experience with sunglasses.
However, this university student had successfully convinced her parents to invest in a branded pair of powered sunglasses two years ago.
“I chose a Fendi brand pair of sunglasses, and my father almost flipped when he was told that they cost slightly more than RM1,000. I am short-sighted, so it did cost more to have the lenses powered.
“My younger sister has a pair of Ray-Ban shades, powered but slightly cheaper. I am confident that these pair of sunglasses will protect our eyes from damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays,” said Hazirah.
Getting your spectacle frame inserted with lenses is definitely more interesting nowadays.
Khairunisah explained: “The transition lenses will turn colour according to heat and it acts as a UV protector, just like an appropriate pair of sunglasses.
“There are also high index lenses, which are also anti-glare or non-reflective, and thinner lenses or those whose eyesight needs to be corrected with more power.
“That would enable the lenses to be less thick, thus less heavy and more fashionable, easily fitted into rimless, or half rimmed and the thin framed choices.”
She advised the public not to buy their reading glasses, powered spectacles, sunglasses or contact lenses from unregistered eyeglass suppliers.
In this high technology world today, there are many types of lenses to protect the eyes, such as high-index lenses, polycarbonate, trivex and theaspheric lenses.
There are also anti-reflective coatings, scratch-resistant, polarised, photochromatic and ultra violet treated lenses.
Amir Husain Rahman Shariff, an optometrist and director of Menara Optometry, said lenses used for inexpensive sunglasses are coated with a dark coloured tint.
He said: “They are not safe, you just cannot look at the sun after you put these cheap sunglasses on. Just ask ourselves this, why do we put on sunglasses? It is simply to protect our eyes from UV rays.
“Excessive exposure to it can lead to cataracts and can even cause damage to the cornea, the internal lens and the retina.”
In earlier days, glasses were worn to correct weak vision, especially myopic problems among the young,.
Frames were given more emphasis and their wearers were particular about the looks they give them. Of course, fashion plays a role when choices on frames are made.
Then came the choice of lenses and, more recently, optimum vision is a new choice for many users.
Today, youngsters are more interested in contact lenses, especially coloured ones.
“We want our contact lens wearers to go through a test first, to determine if their eyes are suitable for contact lenses. Optometrists are supposed to advise about the consequences after an eye examination,” Khairunisah emphasised.
One can certainly hurt their eyes, if not careful.
Harming one’s eyesight would not be easy to cope with, especially if it was caused by carelessness in making the safest choice when buying a pair of contact lenses.
Special care when purchasing a pair of contact lenses should not be ignored. In fact, there are some procedures to adhere to, for both the optometrist and user.
“Contact lens users need to blink correctly, too, so that tears produced can help ease the discomfort of wearing lenses.
That is why people with dry eyes should not be wearing contact lenses. That is also why pre-evaluation by an optometrist is very necessary,” Khairunisah explained.
Contact lens wearers must realise that they may face ten times more risks and are prone to serious eye problems unless they strictly follow specific eye care procedures.
source: CNA
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