When you book an appointment for your eye test don’t forget your children too
Your child’s vision is possibly their most precious sense. Did you know that the majority of eye conditions have no obvious early signs or symptoms so your child could have a potential problem without you knowing about it.
Additionally, children only have their own experience of the world. They don’t know what ‘normal’ vision is if they’ve never had it. It is therefore extremely important that your child has their eyes tested at regular intervals so that any indications of problems can be dealt with straight away.
At Evans & Hughes we have a wealth of experience working with children of all ages, from toddlers through to teenagers. In fact, we recommend your child is brought to see us from as young as 3 years old or sooner if you suspect a problem. This is because the eyes are developing at a dramatic rate during this time, and up until the age of eight. This leaves a critical window of opportunity to intervene and manage any eye conditions such as a lazy eye.
About 2-3% of children have a lazy eye, clinically known as ‘amblyopia’. This is different to short/long sightedness or astigmatism and it may be associated with a squint (the eyes are not looking in the same direction). Sometimes glasses and/or patching of the good eye is required to try and improve the vision in the weaker lazy eye. The sooner we try and do this the better the outcome will be for the child.
As well as checking how well the child can see we also look into their eyes and do various other tests such as colour vision.
Finally, we appreciate that children don’t want to spend their precious time sat in our testing room. That’s why we make our sight tests for youngsters fun and interactive, to keep even the most fidgety patients entertained.
Please note : Eye examinations are free for up to sixteen years of age and up to but not including nineteen if still in education. A voucher will be supplied after their eye test should they require spectacles and we have a great range of frames for them to choose from. Click here to find out more.