Signs that your child may have a vision issue and why annual exams are so important

Even the most gifted students will struggle academically if they have trouble seeing the blackboard or focusing on a book.

It is estimated that over 60% of children with learning difficulties have an undetected vision problem. 80% of information kids receive in the classroom is presented visually and vision can affect sports performance, too – hand-eye coordination, depth perception and eye tracking ability. Healthy eyes and good vision are essential for your kid’s growth and development.

Often, vision issues are at the root of learning problems and behavioral issues and may unfortunately go unchecked and misdiagnosed. If your child is having trouble in school, you may want to start out with a comprehensive eye exam and see if there is a vision issue first with your child before pursuing other avenues.

It is common for children to think that their vision is normal and therefore they often won’t report it to parents or teachers. That is why it is even more important to know what signs to look for:

Vision Signs

  • Squinting or blinking often
  • Eye rubbing
  • Tilting the head to the side
  • Covering one eye
  • One eye that turns out or in
  • Reporting double vision
  • Holding books or reading materials very close to the face

Behavioral Signs

  • Complaining of headaches or eye fatigue
  • Short attention span
  • Difficulty reading
  • Losing their place frequently when reading
  • Avoiding reading or any activity that requires close work
  • Problems with reading comprehension or recall
  • Behavioral issues that stem from frustration and/or boredom
  • Poor performance and achievement in school or athletics
  • Working twice as hard to achieve minimal performance in school

Often, parents and teachers think that a school vision screening is good enough to assess your child’s vision, so if that test comes back okay, they believe there is no vision problem. However,this may be far from the case. A school vision test usually only assesses visual acuity for distance vision or how far a child can see. Even a child with 20/20 vision can have significant vision problems that prevent them from seeing, reading and processing visual information.

We recommend all kids of school age have yearly comprehensive eye and vision exams to ensure any issues are addressed and taken care of as soon as possible. It’s also important to have an exam prior to entering kindergarten, as undetected lazy eye may be more complicated to treat past seven years of age.

Some of the issues our optometrist may look for, in addition to good visual acuity, are the ability to focus, eye teaming and tracking, visual perception, hand-eye coordination, depth perception and peripheral vision. They will also assess the health of the eye and look for any underlying conditions that may be impairing vision. Depending on the problem the eye doctor may prescribe eyeglasses, contact lenses or vision therapy to correct the issue.

During the school years a child’s eyes and vision continue to develop and change so it is important to continually check in on your child’s vision. If you have a family history of vision problems, follow-ups are even more important. Progressive conditions like progressive myopia, strabismus (crossed eyes), amblyopia (lazy eye) or astigmatism can be treated and monitored for changes with early treatment so it’s important to seek a doctor’s diagnosis as soon as signs or symptoms are present.

Add a comprehensive eye exam to your back to school to-do list. Our experienced, kid-friendly optometrists look forward to making sure your child has the best possible chances for success in school. And we know, kids will be kids. Our WOW Guarantee worry free protection plan was made with that in mind. Check out our Back to School Specials!

Schedule your child’s eye exam today, (301) 591-1763 or request to schedule online!

Summer, 2018 Newsletter

Visionary Eye Doctors Newsletter
Summer, 2018
In This Issue

  • Meet our new Cornea and External Disease Specialist, Dr. Sarezky
  • Even Non-Surfers can get Surfer’s Eye – Pterygium/Carnosidad
  • It’s Back to School Time and We Have Some Great Promotions 
We are excited to welcome Dan Sarezky, MD!
Cornea and External Diseases Specialist

Cataract and Refractive Surgery

Comprehensive Ophthalmology 

Meet Dr. Sarezky

Book an appointment with Dr. Sarezky in our Rockville or DC office.

 Even Non-Surfers Can Get Surfer’s Eye! 

Pterygium | Carnosidad

If you spend a lot of time working or playing outdoors, you run the risk of developing a pterygium/carnosidad, commonly referred to as Surfer’s Eye. Despite the name you do not need to be anywhere near the ocean to acquire surfer’s eye; you just need excessive exposure to UV radiation or dry, dusty environments.

Pterygiums/Carnosidads are most common in people between the ages of 20 and 50 years and are more common in men. Also, Pterygia (plural for Pterygium) often occur in multiple members of families thereby indicating a genetic predisposition. People who live or are from tropical climates, occupations such as, landscapers and other outdoor workers, people who participate in sports such as soccer, sailors, surfers, golfers and skiers who are subjected to a lot of reflected UV light and populations living where there is ozone layer depletion, have a higher incidence. People who tend to suffer from dry eyes may also be more prone to developing a pterygium particularly if they spend a great deal of their time outdoors.

Surfer’s Eye: The Good News

The Good news is that if you have been diagnosed with a pterygium/carnosidad, you have access to one of the leading pterygium surgeons in the world, right here at Visionary Eye Doctors that can help treat your pterygium and has one of the lowest recurrence rates in the world, less than 1%.

Dr. J. Alberto Martinez has a true passion for patients affected by Pterygium, and he is completely empathetic in your journey – as he too has a personal story with Pterygium that you may read here.

Prevention is Always Preferable

If your job or lifestyle put you at high risk for surfer’s eye or carnosidad, you can take measures to prevent this unsightly growth:

  • Regularly wear UV 400 rated sunglasses when outdoors in sunny weather
  • Wear sunglasses with a wrap-around design
  • Wear a hat with a wide brim

Your eyes are often the first thing that people notice about you. We can help!

For more information, please go to www.eyewhitemd.com and request a free pterygium/carnosidad screening!

Bark to School Specials – School Style, Solved
Dele
Schedule your kids (and yours too) Back to School Comprehensive Eye Exam Today – We Hope to See the Entire Family!
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Contact Us (301) 591-1782
www.voeyedr.com
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