Dr. G.S. Smith

The importance of getting your children’s eyes examined regularly cannot be overstated. About 80% of babies are born with varying degrees of far-sightedness, 5% are near-sighted and 15% with “perfect eyes.” Generally, babies become less far-sighted each year as they develop until their eyes stabilize. It is, of course, different for each child, but the very fact that children get more near-sighted (or less far-sighted) as they age can explain how quickly their eyes can change within a year. Sometimes the child is born with only one “good” eye.The other eye is so blurry that the child uses only the “good” eye for vision, which can lead to a permanent “lazy” eye if not corrected before the age of 6.

Many parents mistakenly assume that if their child isn’t squinting or otherwise complaining, nothing is wrong with their eyesight. Children generally have a very strong focusing ability, which often can “mask” high farsightedness, yet they exhibit no symptoms at all. The problem with relying on a child to assess their vision is if the child is never “shown” what clear vision is in an exam, then they think it’s normal to see things as blurry. An eye examination does not require the child to know their letters or numbers. In fact, critical information can be gathered without any verbal communication at all.

Another common misconception is, “My child read all of the letters on the chart at school/doctor’s office so they don’t need glasses.” Again, this is a mistaken assumption. Reading an acuity chart at school or a doctor’s office provides minimal information and is not designed to detect lazy or crossed eyes, mild nearsightedness/astigmatism or degrees of farsightedness.

An optometrist is a clinically trained, university educated doctor who is able to detect vision conditions such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, presbyopia, lazy eye, and crossed eyes just to name a few. A comprehensive eye exam will assess how well your eyes work and focus together and examine in detail the health of your eyes. Your doctor of optometry can also prescribe eye medications to treat eye infections and inflammations. An optometrist can also remove metal and foreign bodies from the eye and work closely with specialists to assess and monitor eye health in conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetes.

The Canadian Association of Optometrists recommends that a child receive their first eye examination by the age of six months, then again at two years and every year thereafter. Routine eye examinations for children (0 – 18) and seniors (65+) are insured. Alberta Health and Wellness now also insures all medically necessary optometric services (all ages) such as eye infections and inflammations, removal of foreign bodies, glaucoma and eye health monitoring for people with diabetes.
Patients of all ages, regardless of how clear their vision is, should have routine eye examinations. The eyes truly are a “window” to the soul – many different eye and health conditions can be detected. With regular eye examinations, you become as committed to your eyes and eye health as we are.