Eye exams can be performed at any age! According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), infants should have their first comprehensive eye exam at 6 months of age. The AOA also recommends exams at age 3 years and before your child starts school, around age 5 years or 6 years. At the child eye exam, your doctor will evaluate your child’s visual status, eye tracking, eye muscle function, color vision, overall eye health and depth perception. Your doctor will use those results to develop an assessment and plan best for your child. By dilating your child’s pupils, your doctor will be able to examine the internal structures of the eye and accurately refine a glasses prescription.
Your child's primary care provider (Pediatrician, General Practitioner, Nurse, Physician;'s Assistant) should be screening you child’s eyes and visual development at regular well-child visits. Abnormal findings or concerns may be detected and a referral to us for a comprehensive eye examination is made. However, if you have a family history of eye problems, have noticed vision difficulties or just want to make sure your child vision/ eye health are normal, we are happy to see your child for their comprehensive vision and eye-health examination at any time.
To prepare for your pediatric eye exam please be aware that dilation is necessary, especially for younger children. Because children’s eyes can compensate much more than adult eyes, they are capable of masking symptoms of refractive issues such as nearsightedness or farsightedness. When we dilate their pupils, it relaxes that focus, allowing our doctors to get a better idea of how your child’s vision may develop and change and also allows them to examine the internal structures of the eye for overall health and wellness. For infants or non-verbal children, dilation is vital because it helps determine if a child needs a glasses prescription even when they cannot perform the usual vision test.
Dilation will typically cause blurred vision in children, especially at near, for several hours as well as light sensitivity. These effects may vary in duration depending on factors such as age, metabolism and even eye color.
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Evaluation of Strabismus and Amblyopia
Strabismus and amblyopia are eye conditions which are both sometimes referred to as “lazy eye.” Specialized testing is performed during the comprehensive eye examination to diagnose strabismus/amblyopia along with type, severity and treatment options. To evaluate for strabismus and amblyopia, you doctor will assess eye tracking ability and movement, muscle action, fixation and binocular vision. Read More...
In strabismus the two eyes do not always align with each other, with one eye maybe crossing inwards, wandering outward, or overall not always staying in straight alignment with the other eye. The degree and duration of strabismus are variable. Sometimes the deviation is slight or occasional but sometimes the deviation can be dramatic and nearly constant. It is important to evaluate and treat for strabismus as soon as possible because the misalignment may affect visual development in one or both eyes and prevent a child from developing normal binocular vision, an important component in depth perception or “3-D vision.”
Strabismus in children can be treated in several ways, including the use of glasses to bring the eyes into better alignment, patching or eye drops to strengthen control of the eyes, prism added to a glasses prescription and sometimes with surgical correction or other therapies.
In some cases, especially in young children, eyes may appear to be misaligned without having strabismus. Sometimes children may have facial features that may give the appearance of an eye misalignment but without a true muscular imbalance. This "false" appearance of eye misalignment is referred to as “pseudostrabismus.”
Adults with strabismus should also have regular exams to ensure that vision is stable, check for any changes in eye alignment and to manage any symptoms that may arise. Even with past surgical correction, adults with strabismus may experience new symptoms such as eye strain, double vision and vertigo. These symptoms can generally be well-managed with up-to-date glasses and contact lens prescriptions or sometimes with further surgery.
Amblyopia is a condition wherein one or both eyes are structurally normal but, for a variety of reasons, the brain does not “learn” to use the eye fully, thus producing blurred vision in the affected eye(s).
Amblyopia can be treated with the use of glasses and sometimes using an eye patch or eye drops on the stronger eye to condition the vision centers of the brain to “re-learn” how to use the weaker eye more fully. Amblyopia treatments are most effective in early childhood when the neurological system is more adaptable to changes.
There is evidence that some forms of strabismus and amblyopia can be hereditary. If you have a family history of either of these conditions, it is recommended to have your child seen to determine if they are at risk and to allow early intervention if needed.
Strabismus Surgery Co-Management
If strabismus is diagnosed, the treatment plan may include strabismus or eye muscle surgery. Your doctor may refer to an eye surgeon for consultation and treatment Your doctor will work in partnership wtih the surgeon, usually a Pediatric Ophthalmologist, to perform pre-surgical measurements, treatment and post-operative follow-ups. Read More...
Specific surgical correction depends on many different factors, including the patient’s specific form of strabismus, responsiveness to past treatment, and how much symptoms disrupt day-to-day functioning.
Our optometric physicians have extensive experience in strabismus surgery co-management with close working relationships with Pediatric Ophthalmologists in the region. Following surgery, we offer post-operative care and monitoring in coordination with your surgical team to ensure continuity of care. Following recovery, we can continue your eye care through regular examination to make sure your vision is clear and your eye health remains stable.