Protecting your Child’s Eyesight
Sports and your child’s eye – If your child is involved in contact sports or ball games, eye protection is a must. Polycarbonate Plastic for lenses and special safety materials for frames is recommended.
Swimming and your child’s eye – Chlorine in pools can cause irritation. Infections can be contracted in freshwater. Avoid these harmful effects by using water tight swimming goggles.
VDUs (Visual Display Units) and your child’s eye – Include computer and television screens. Prolonged work with these may give rise to eyestrain, headaches, burning, itching, blurring of vision, double vision, nausea and fatigue. Here are a few recommendations:
For Computers
- Check position to minimize reflection and Glare
- Preferred viewing distance is 60 to 80 cms
- Place the screen at eye level or slightly lower
- Take periodic breaks, 5 to 10 minutes every hour
For Televisions
- Do not watch TV in a dark room
- Preferred viewing distance is 3 to 4 meters
Lighting and your child’s eye
While reading, the light source should be positioned behind your child. At a desk, preferably use a shielded light since this prevents light from shining directly in the eyes. The light should not be glaring. The reading material should be at a distance of 12-14 inches.
Preserving your child’s eyesight
Loss of vision is the most feared disability, particularly when someone in the family has an eye problem or a ‘high number’. However, many of the problems leading to visual loss are related to lifestyle choices. Vision depends on a clear lens, rich microcirculation to the retina, and visual nerve cells of the retina called rods and cones. These are adversely affected on exposure to toxins and oxygen free radicals, and poor dietary habits.
Common eye problems in children
- Refractive errors (spectacle number) account for 80% of visual impairment in children. This includes Myopia or near-sightedness, where distance vision is blurred, but a child can usually see well for reading or other near tasks. This occurs most often in school age children. The prescription for glasses will indicate a minus sign before the prescription (for example, – 2.00).
Another problem is Hyperopia (far-sightedness), where problems such as crossing of the eyes, blurred vision, or discomfort may develop. However, most children are far-sighted early in life and it becomes a concern only in excessive cases where the focusing muscles are not able to keep the vision clear. A prescription for hyperopia will be preceded by a plus sign (+3.00).
Astigmatism is also common and is caused by a difference in the surface curve of the eye. Instead of being shaped like a perfect sphere (like a basketball), the eye is shaped with a greater curve in one axis (like a rugby ball) and this causes fine details to look blurred or distorted. Here, the prescribed glasses have greater strength in one direction of the lens than in the opposite direction.
Anisometropia causes children to have a different prescription in each eye. This can create a condition called lazy eye, where the vision in one eye does not develop normally. Glasses (and sometimes patching) are needed to ensure that each eye can see clearly.
- Lazy eye or Amblyopia is seen in 1% of children. It is a failure of the eye to connect to the brain due to lack of use of one eye during infancy and childhood. Therefore, the vision in the amblyopic eye remains poorer than in the normal eye. To solve this, the poorer seeing eye is forced to be used by patching the preferred eye and combined with the use of glasses where necessary. Amblyopia must be corrected by 9 years of age by which time it becomes permanent. To detect and treat ambylopia, it is necessary to examine pre-school age children.
- Squint or Strabismus, also called crossed-eyes, means that the eyes are not aligned but are pointing in different directions. They may either point inwards towards the nose (esotropia), outwards to the ear (exotropia) or up or down (vertical strabismus). The problem can be constant or intermittent. However, intermittent strabismus occurs in infants during the first few months of life, especially when the infant is tired, since they are still learning to focus their eyes and to move them in a coordinated fashion.
Most babies outgrow this intermittent strabismus by the age of 3 months. For other cases, various treatment options are available, including exercises for the eyes, called orthoptics. Some of the ncommon eye problems in children include cataract, glaucoma and retinal problems, which are treated through different methods.
Start with the diet
All children need the same nutrients, no matter what their age. Give your child a healthy diet with an emphasis on fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains, beans, seeds, and nuts. The nutrients that they provide are important for overall as well as eye health. For non-vegetarians, add eggs and a small amount of fish. Avoid those addictive sweets along with the sodas, cookies, pies, ice cream, and candy. Junk food is a prescription for disaster when it comes to eyesight. Staying with a mostly vegetarian diet of natural, unprocessed foods will help preserve the circulation to the retina, the rods and cones, and the lens.
Add Exercise for Circulation
Regular exercise helps to maintain a low blood pressure and preserves the blood vessels, which the retina is rich in. It also improves circulation to the heart through the coronary arteries. Exercise also helps to support the health of the cells that line the arteries, called endothelium. These cells help relax the blood vessel muscles and maintain blood flow.
Protection from ultraviolet light
Eyes undergo damage to the lens and the retina on exposure to ultraviolet light. Protecting the eyes from too much sun exposure may help delay any degeneration of the lens and the retina. However, some sun exposure is healthy as long as it is in moderation. Sunlight is important for the skin for the production of vitamin D. A wide-brimmed hat and UVfiltering sunglasses (in older children) provide protection for the eyes.
Supplements for the eyes
Over 25% of childhood blindness in India is due to Vitamin A deficiency. Many dietary supplements improve vision and help protect the macula (the area of the retina with the sharpest vision) and the lens such as vitamins E and C, and the trace minerals selenium and zinc. Others are the amino acid taurine, carotenoids such as beta-carotene, lycopene (found in tomatoes), lutein (from spinach), and the anthocyanosides (related to bioflavonoids) found in grapes.
Recommendations for Eye examination in children
A pediatrician should examine a new born’s eyes.An ophthalmologist should be asked to examine all premature infants.Vision screening should be done between 3 and 3½ years of age.Detailed eye examination must be done if there is appearance of symptoms of visual impairment.
This leaflet is intended to provide general information for patients.