Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month 2023 – August 1st to August 31st being declared as Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month, HSEWatch has decided to join the train in creating awareness about children’s eye safety, by answering some pertinent questions on how to care for children eyes and gathering relevant information and putting them forth here.
Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month
What Are The Good Eye Care Habits for Children
Maintain a Healthy Diet and Drink Plenty of Water: Eating a healthy diet and keeping your eyes healthy are two sides of the same coin. Make sure your child is getting plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, and focus on foods that are high in vitamin A, such as green leafy vegetables or yellow vegetables.
Eggs are also a great source of vitamins A, Lutein, Zeaxanthin, and Zinc, all of which are essential for good eye health.
Drinking plenty of water is also important for keeping your eyes and body healthy. The amount of water your child drinks will depend on their age, how much exercise they are getting, and the weather.
Wear Eye Protection where necessary: Physical activity is fun and healthy, but it’s important to make sure your child wears the right type of eyewear, such as safety goggles, whenever they play sports or engage in activities that could lead to an eye injury (e.g., playing ball, playing hockey, carpentry, etc.).
Wearing a helmet for a sport like riding a bicycle helps protect your child from concussions that can lead to long-term vision problems. Most concussions are preventable and can be avoided.
It’s also important to get your child the right type of sunglasses. UV-blocking sunglasses protect your child’s eyes from the harmful UV rays of the sun. Looking directly at the sun or the light rays reflected off water and snow can cause retinal burns and other long-term damage.
Reduce digital device viewing time: Digital devices and screens are a part of our daily lives. Video games, videos on their phones, and computer games all require our eyes to focus for a long time. Digital eye strain can cause headaches and dry eyes, so try to limit your child’s time in front of the screen.
Get your child involved in other activities like sports.
When your child is in front of a digital device or screen for a long time, encourage them to take frequent breaks. Give their eyes a break by looking away every few minutes.
Give the eye rest: Allowing your child to spend all day looking at school boards and school books, followed by video games or television in the evening, can lead to strain on the eyes. Make sure your child is getting enough sleep so that their eyes can rest. Instead, substitute evening activities that don’t require intense eye focus: going for a walk in the park, spending time with friends outside, or just lying down with your child’s eyes closed while they listen to music or read an audiobook.
Develop a routine eye check for your children: School-aged children’s vision can change frequently and unpredictably until the late teen years. If not corrected, poor vision can disrupt learning and lead to behavioral and attention problems.
Routine eye exams can reveal vision issues, diagnose eye conditions early, and significantly improve the chances of maintaining long-term vision health. If your child wears glasses or contacts, make sure to check for changes and change the prescription as necessary.
Schedule an eye exam today at Child & Family Eye Care in The Woodlands to make sure your child is getting the care they need. Your child’s eye doctor can also help educate them about eye safety and answer your or your child’s questions.
Get enough sleep: As we sleep, our bodies heal and recharge. This includes our eyes. Not getting enough sleep can affect how well your child’s eyes heal from everyday eye strain and irritants in the environment—like dry air, allergens, and pollutants.
Importance of Eye Health for Your Children
Your child’s vision is essential for their ability to perceive the environment around them. However, it also plays a critical role in their growth and development. An uncorrected visual impairment can hurt your child’s capacity to learn and achieve their full potential.
Having a regular eye exam is essential for the health of your child’s eyes. Since many vision issues start at a young age, it is important to ensure that your child receives the recommended eye exams.
Good vision is essential for your child’s overall growth and ability to learn. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to help protect your child’s developing vision and help them see the beautiful future they have in front of them.
As your child grows, their eyes can change quickly. Your child’s pediatrician will likely screen your child’s vision as part of their regular checkups. If they find signs of a vision problem, they may recommend that your child see an eye doctor for a comprehensive eye exam.
Common Vision Problems In Children
Parents and teachers can help children by being aware of common vision problems. For example:
- Refractive errors: This eye condition includes myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism (when the cornea or lens has a different shape than normal). Refractive errors occur when light does not correctly focus on the retina, which is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. This condition causes blurred vision.
- Amblyopia (lazy eye): This eye condition occurs when vision in one eye is reduced because of a communication error between the brain and the affected eye. The brain will rely more and more on the stronger eye, while vision in the weaker eye gets worse.
- Strabismus (crossed eyes): This eye condition can affect one or both eyes. When a child has strabismus, their eyes do not focus on the same object at the same time. As a result, their eyes have trouble maintaining the correct position.
- Convergence insufficiency: This eye condition affects how the eyes work together when looking at objects close up. Convergence insufficiency can cause blurry or double vision when a person looks at any object close up, including a book, computer, or digital device.
Read more HSE information here – Click to read
If you notice your child squinting, rubbing their eyes, having trouble concentrating or complaining of headaches after doing schoolwork, make an appointment with an eye doctor.
