Children and Eye Health
What You Can Do to Protect Your Child
Healthy eyes and good vision are essential for the physical and educational development of our children. Most children have healthy eyes. However, vision problems can begin at an early age and go unnoticed by you and your child. So proper eye care is vital. Early detection and treatment are indispensable in preventing conditions that could potentially cause problems or permanent vision loss.
recommends that every child has a professional eye exam shortly after birth, by six months of age and again just prior to entering school. Once in school, children should receive regular eye exams.
Children's Eye Care
Many vision problems begin at an early age in childhood, so it’s important for children to receive proper eye care from the time they are infants. Early detection and treatment are essential to preventing conditions that could potentially cause problems or vision loss.
In the United States, more than 12.1 million school-age children have some form of vision problem, but as few as 14% of children receive an eye exam before entering first grade.*
Also, many, if not most, schools have no regular screening program in place, and even when mandated by law, screenings are often not done. Poor eyesight can have a significant adverse effect on a child’s educational and social performance.
Our Commitment to Children
Optos is committed to educating parents on the importance of having their children’s eyes checked regularly. This commitment to children stems from our origin – Our revolutionary optomap ultra-widefield Retinal Image is the brainchild of Douglas Anderson, founder of Optos, whose son lost sight in one eye at the age of five due to an undetected retinal detachment. After this tragedy, Mr. Anderson set out to develop a system that not only could capture an unprecedented view of the retina (200 degrees), but that was also patient-friendly, particularly for children, who tend to be more difficult to examine.
Regular monitoring of the retina can detect serious eye conditions in time to administer effective treatment.
* Prevent Blindness America