Babiators - sunglasses for children

We see a lot of kids at our Vancouver eye clinic. One important aspect of children's eye care is protecting young eyes from the sun. The eyes of children are much more vulnerable to damage from UV rays. The lenses in their eyes do not block as much UV radiation as in adults. Follow the same precautions as you would for an adult, but be sure to choose sunglasses that fit their smaller faces, have impact-resistant lenses, and have lenses large enough to shield the entire eye.

According to a new report issued by The Vision Council in May 2012, parents protect own eyes from the sun better than they protect their kids eyes. The report shows that while 73% of adults do wear sunglasses, only 58% of them make their children wear sunglasses.

Parents may hold back on sunglasses for their kids because of cost or because kids are rough and forgetful with their eye wear resulting in lost or broken sunglasses. To fix this problem, we have begun carrying Babiators kids' sunglasses. The photo above is Dr. Randhawa's daughter wearing her new Babiators in the park. Babiators have a great guarantee to replace lost or broken sunglasses within one year, as long as you register your new pair of Babiators online.

Here is the guarantee straight from their website:


Babiators are durable — made to withstand whatever adventure your child dreams up. We know life can be a bit unpredictable, so should you lose or break your Babiators within one year of purchase, we'll send you a replacement pair — free. Simply register for your Lost & Found Guarantee within 30 days of purchase, and you're all set.register here

UV exposure over time causes eye disease and vision loss

The Vision Council report suggests that too many people still do not understand the serious damage that UV exposure can have on your eyes. Even fewer realize that it is cumulative exposure over time – which happens on both sunny and cloudy days – that leads to vision threatening diseases. One such disease, macular degeneration, leads to permanent vision loss and their is no cure.

The solution is to wear sunglasses and regular eye glasses with proper UV protection. Kids need this more than adults because the lens of a child’s eye is not as good as blocking UV rays as the lens of an adult eye. 

What cataracts and macular degeneration look like

Wearing sunglasses is a serious preventative health measure. Here is what macular degeneration can do to your vision:



UV damage also causes cataracts. Here is what cataracts can do to your vision:

Vision therapy for vergence and accommodation

A new case report was published in the latest issue of the Journal Optometry & Visual Performance, which supports the effectiveness of in-office vision therapy for the treatment of vergence and accommodation dysfunctions.

Vergence is the simultaneous movement of both eyes in opposite directions to obtain or maintain single binocular vision.

Accommodation  is the process by which the eye changes its focusing power to maintain a clear focus on an object as its distance from the eye varies.

The case report discussed a patient who was 10-years and 10 months old and underwent 16 visits for vision-based therapy along with home reinforcement (vision therapy homework). The authors used several methods to measure accomodation and vergence before and after therapy, including the Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS), near point of convergence (NPC), positive fusional vergence range at near (PFV), accommodative amplitude, and accommodative facility. The measures taken showed decreased symptom severity following therapy.

The in-office vision therapy program used in the study was identical to that used in the well known Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial studies and produced measurable changes in vergence and accommodation in the case subject, who also had convergence insufficiency.

The results not only demonstrate the efficacy of vision therapy but also provide an illustration of the plasticity of the oculomotor system, which is not fully developed at 10 years of age and responds well to interventions like vision therapy.

Source

Optometry & Visual Performance
Objective Assessment of Vergence and Accommodation After Vision Therapy for Convergence Insufficiency in a Child: A Case Report Optometry and visual performance 2014 Feb 04;2(1)7-12, M Scheiman, KJ Ciuffreda, P Thiagarajan, B Tannen, DP Ludlam

Stereo vision (depth perception) in preschool children - what if my child can't see 3D?

One of the easiest ways to diagnose a vision disorder in a very young child is to test his or her stereo acuity or depth perception.  Poor 3D vision is often caused by a vision disorder, some of which may be serious disorders that are best treated in early childhood.  Poor 3D vision may even be the sing of life threatening diseases such as tumours, as in this famous story from Ontario.

A new study published in the journal Optometry & Vision Science examined the a large population of pre-school children and tested their depth perception using the Stereo Smile II test.  The researchers then looked at the association of poor 3D vision with vision disorders.

The study found that children with vision disorders had significantly worse median stereoacuity than that of children without vision disorders. Children with the most severe vision disorders had worse stereoacuity than that of children with milder disorders.

The researchers also found that testability was excellent at all ages of the children included in the study. The results support the validity of the Stereo Smile II for assessing random-dot stereoacuity in preschool children.  The results also point to the need to take children who have poor stereo vision to a developmental optometrist to be evaluated and treated for developmental vision disorders that may be the cause of the poor stereo vision.

For more information visit our 3D vision web page at http://www.visiontherapy.ca/3dmediaandvision.html

Stereo vision, vision therapy and the TED talks

Stereo vision and treatment of depth perception problems with optometric vision therapy has been the subject of TED talk featuring neuroscientist Dr. Susan Barry:

Related articles on children and depth perception

What is 3D Vision Syndrome? 

Don't like 3D movies? You may have 3D Vision Syndrome

Take your kids to see "Thor": doctor's orders!

Life threatening disease found in girls eye - lack of 3D vision was the clue

Fixing My Gaze - Can you imagine not having 3D vision?

TED - ideas worth spreading - Susan Barry on how vision therapy gave her 3D vision

Source

Stereoacuity and Vision Disorders in Preschool Children
Optom Vis Sci 2014 Jan 23;[EPub Ahead of Print], EB Ciner, G-S Ying, MT Kulp, MG Maguire, GE Quinn, E Graham, D Orel-Bixler, LA Cyert, B Moore, J Huang

Kids' eyeglass frames - the top three features to look for

Did you know? Only 10% of all eyeglass frames are made for children.

There are a number of child friendly features to look for in children's frames.  Here are the top three.  Read more...

RELATED ARTICLES

Which frames do celebrities choose for their children?

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The connection between vision and learning

Experts estimate that 80% of learning is obtained through our visual system.   That is why thorough eye exams and treatment for eye and vision problems are essential for academic and life success.  Some vision problems can be treated with corrective lenses (glasses and contact lenses) while others that have to do with eye movement or the connection between the eyes and the brain require vision therapy  - which is like physical therapy for the eyes and the brain and is delivered by a developmental optometrist like Dr. M.K Randhawa.

Just how important is vision for success?  Here is what some scientists have found about the connection between vision and learning.

• studies found significantly lower achievement test scores, as well as reduced letter and word recognition, receptive vocabulary, emergent orthography, and verbal and performance intelligence quotients among children with uncorrected hyperopia.
• children with learning disabilities exhibit a greater prevalence of vision-related problems than the entire population.
• most vision problems that may affect learning are related to refractive error, so vision examinations may provide helpful information in the management of children with learning disabilities.

Source:

Vision Problems of Children with Individualized Education Programs, Walline et al., Journal of Behavioral Optometry, Volume 23/2012/Number 4

Related Articles:
More visual symptoms means lower academic performance

Vision therapy for convergence insufficiency improves academic performance

82% of teachers report an improvement in students after vision therapy

Binocular vision dysfunctions ate my homework

Study proves that vision problems interfere with learning

Children's eye exams

Did you know that a child should have their first eye exam at the age of six months and then annually thereafter?  Like most medical conditions, eye health and vision problems are much more treatable when caught early.

Good vision in infants is also critical for visual, brain and overall development.  A child with poor vision is prevented from effectively exploring and understanding the world and deprived of valuable brain stimulation.  Studies have also proven what eye doctors already know, that vision problems that persist lead to adult problems such as joblessness, incarceration, lower income and behaviour problems.  Life threatening diseases can also lurk in the eyes of young child.  Read more...

 

Here is a video of Dr. M. K. Randhawa talking about a patient story from our Vancouver eye clinic involving a five-year-old girl who had been legally blind her whole life - until she came in for an eye exam:

Image courtesy of arztsamui / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Vision and learning

At our Vancouver optometry clinic one of the most professionally and personally rewarding things we do is to help children reach their full academic and intellectual potential by treating vision problems that interfere with learning.  There are a number of vision problems that interfere with learning beyond the obvious one that can be fixed with glasses or contact lenses and need to be treated by a developmental optometrist using vision therapy.  These include visual information processing and binocular vision disorders, convergence insufficiency and accomodative insufficiency. These disorders are sometimes the result of traumatic brain injury.

That's because these are not problems with visual accuity,which means that even if a child has 20-20 vision as measured with the eye chart, the child's vision could be substantially deficient if she has one of these visual problems.


For who want to learn more about vision and learning, here are some informative articles:

More visual symptoms means lower academic performance
Feb 29, 2012

Vision therapy for convergence insufficiency improves academic performance ...
Jan 16, 2012

82% of teachers report an improvement in students after vision therapy
Jun 16, 2012

Binocular vision dysfunctions ate my homework
Mar 31, 2012

Study proves that vision problems interfere with learning and cause dyslexia
Apr 25, 2012

60% of students labled "learning disabled" students failed two or more binocular vision tests
Oct 20, 2012

Symptoms of some vision problems are a lot like ADHD - make sure your child is not misdiagnosed and unnecessarily medicated.

To find a doctor visit www.covd.org

What is the best eyewear for kids? It's what eye doctors choose for their own kids.

Our sister blog, KidsVision.ca asks, "What is the best eyewear for kids?"  The eye wear that eye doctors choose for their own children  reflects a doctor's concern for health, safety and effective vision correction.  Find out what eye doctors choose for their own kids. Read more...

Visual function development: behaviors to watch out for in your children

Developmental optometry and ophthalmology

Dr. Lea Hyvarinen is one of the worlds few developmental ophthalmologists.  Usually, if you or your child has a developmental vision problem you will see a developmental optometrist like Dr. Randhawa  who is a member of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD).  Dr. Lea has just commenced a blog on children's vision development, which you can visit here and was a well-received speaker at the COVD annual meeting last weekend.

Dr. Lea Hyvarinen

In a recent post about infants with normal visual development, she provided the following table, which summarizes the development of visual functions that are easy to for parents and teachers to observe.  The table and the related post give an excellent indication of the quality of her new book called "What and how does this child see?" 

Visual information processing

The book covers many of the topics discussed on this blog, including as visual information processing, a topic that North American ophthalmologists tend not to be familiar with.  For example, see this 1996 study from the field of rehabilitation medicine published in the journal NeuroRehabilitation by Raymond et al., where the authors say that patients with potential visual information processing deficits "should be referred to a behavioral or neuro-optometrist" and noted that  "referrals made to an ophthalmologist may be insufficient, as they are primarily concerned with the health of the eye only."  Of course, Dr. Lea is an exception to this and would likely provide excellent assessments of her patient's visual information processing skills.

Visual development behaviors to watch for

Parents can refer to this table when trying to assess their child's visual development.  But understand that trained professionals should be consulted for reliable assessments and diagnoses.  As noted by Dr. Lea, the table "summarizes the main steps of the visual development. These milestones are used in many countries in the follow-up of normal development of visual functions and in detecting symptoms and signs of deviations from the norm."

Age (months)	Behavior
0–1	•       turns eyes and head to look at light   sources  •       horizontal eye tracking, tonic focusing
2–3	•       intense eye contact at 6-8 weeks  •       vertical and circular tracking •       interested in mobiles •       interested in lip movements
3–6	•       watches own hands  •       reaches toward, later grasps hanging objects •       observes toys falling and rolling away •       shifts fixation across mid-line •       visual sphere of attention widens gradually •       very active in visual interaction
7–10	•       notices small bread crumbs, touches them  •       adjusts the grasp to the size of the objects •       interested in pictures, also stereo images •       recognizes partially hidden objects •       recognizes family members by facial features
11–12	•       knows places at home  •       looks through window and recognizes people •       recognizes pictures, plays hide-and-seek •       can predict adult’s goals of motor actions

For more information of children's vision, eye care, and children's optometry, please visit www.kidsvision.ca.

Related articles:

Study proves that vision problems - visual information processing deficits -  interfere with learning to read and cause dyslexia

The former First Lady of the United States on her daughter's developmental vision problem and how vision therapy worked for her

Mom of struggling reader speaks out

Vision problems can have drastic effects on brain development and learning

How to choose a children's (pediatric) optometrist

Binocular vision dysfunctions ate my homework 

TED: ideas worth spreading - Dr. Susan Barry on vision therapy and depth perception

Patient story - Five year old girl sees her mom's face for the first time in our Vancouver eye clinic

Convergence insufficiency symptoms - doctors need to pay attention to performance related symptoms such as reading performance, attention and ADHD-like symptoms

In a study published in October 2012 in the journal Optometry & Vision Science, researchers set out to to investigate the symptoms that children with convergence insufficiency experienced and to determine whether certain categories of patients (grouped by age, sex, ethnicity, children who's parents reported that they had ADHD  etc.) experienced symptoms in a common way.  In short, the study sought to figure out whether there was a pattern to convergence insufficiency symptoms.

The study is a validation of the approach we take in our Vancouver optometry clinic, where we always assess performance related symptoms. it is performance related symptoms that make convergence insufficiency a problem in the first place and the reason why patients with convergence in sufficiency need treatment.

Here is how the study was conducted.  The researchers conducted a a randomized clinical trial in which they administered the convergence insufficiency symptom survey before and after treatment.  There were 221 children aged 9 to 18 years with symptomatic convergence insufficiency who participated in the study. Performance-related vs. eye-related symptoms for was compared.  Performance-related symptoms are symptoms such as having difficulty reading or concentrating on school work.

At baseline, the score for performance-related symptoms was greater than that for eye-related symptoms  regardless of age, sex, race/ethnicity, or presence of parent-reported Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Symptom severity increased with age. Children with parent-reported ADHD were more symptomatic than those without parent-reported ADHD. This study adds to the literature linking ADHD to convergence insufficiency.

There was a significant improvement for the performance- and eye-related symptoms in the children who responded to treatment for convergence insufficiency. It was found that girls had significantly lower performance-related symptoms than boys, and black children reported less eye-related symptoms than white children. Children without parent-reported ADHD had significantly less symptoms overall and less eye-related symptoms than children with parent-reported ADHD.

The study authors concluded that because of a high frequency of both performance- and eye-related symptoms, eye doctors should perform a targeted history that addresses both types of symptoms to help identify children with symptomatic convergence insufficiency. In other words, doctors who ignore performance related symptoms and just focus narrowly on the eye are liable to miss patients who have convergence insufficiency.  The study focuses attention on the important relationship of convergence insufficiency and symptoms and their potential influence on ADHD, reading performance, and attention.

Related articles:

The gold standard treatment for convergence insufficiency

Aug 31, 2012

What does convergence insufficiency look like? - See For Life

May 17, 2012

Vision therapy for convergence insufficiency improves academic behaviors

Jan 16, 2012

Is your child smart in everything but school? The ultimate - See For Life

Jun 14, 2012

Problem readers may have convergence insufficiency - See For Life

Jul 05, 2011

Adults with convergence insufficiency - See For Life

Oct 25, 2011

New research on the connection between convergence insufficiency and ADHD

Oct 25, 2011

Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Success Rate - See For Life

Oct 14, 2011

Pencil push-ups are so last decade - See For Life

Aug 26, 2011

Binocular vision dysfunctions ate my homework - See For Life

Mar 31, 2012

Your iphone can be a pain in the eye - See For Life

May 26, 2012

Patient story: 5 year old girl sees mom for the first time in the eye doctor's office

Here is a video of me telling the story of a five-year old girl who saw her mother's face for the first time in my office.  While the story is very touching, it is also quite disturbing.  This is not supposed to happen.  Untreated vision problems  in children can be very damaging. Unfortunately, I'm probably not the only children's optometrist to have had this kind of an experience.

One in five children has a vision disorder. Not knowing any differently, many of these children accept poor vision and other eye problems as normal. If left unchecked, serious long-term effects can result. 

That is why experts recommend that a child should have their first doctor's eye exam (by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist) at six moths of age.  Poor vision in the first five years of life deprives a child of critical early stimulation, development and learning.  Remember that 80% of our learning happens through our visual system.

The last two videos are two important public service messages created by the BC Association of Optometrists on the'importance of children's eye exams.

To learn all about children's vision and eye health visit www.kidsvision.ca or www.visiontherapy.ca.

Why do parents take better care of their own eyes than the eyes of their children?

I went to the Puyallup, Washington state fair last week.  It was a hot, sunny day and the fair was jam packed with kids and their parents.  Out of the hundreds, perhaps thousands of kids I saw that day, my kids where the only ones in sunglasses.  But at least half the parents I saw were in sunglasses.

Why do parents take better care of their own eyes than the eyes of their children?

Kids are not being protected from  UV radiation

My own observations at the state fair are confirmed by a report that was issued by The Vision Council in May 2012, that shows that while 73% of adults do wear sunglasses, only 58% of them make their children wear sunglasses.

UV exposure over time can cause eye disease and permanent vision loss

The report suggests that too many people still do not understand the serious damage that UV exposure can have on your eyes. Even fewer realize that it is cumulative exposure over time – which happens on both sunny and cloudy days – that leads to vision threatening diseases. One such disease, macular degeneration, leads to permanent vision loss and their is no cure..

The solution is to wear sunglasses and regular eye glasses with proper UV protection. Kids need this more than adults because the lens of a child’s eye is not as good as blocking UV rays as the lens of an adult eye.  Other diseases that you can protect against by wearing sunglasses are cataracts and skin cancer around the eye

Wearing sunglasses should be seen as a serious preventative health measure. Here is what macular degeneration can do to your vision:





UV damage also causes cataracts. Here is what cataracts can do to your vision:

Skin cancer around the eyes

Optometrists are always mindful of the possible development of skin cancer in the skin surrounding the eyes.

In fact, the eyelid region is one of the most common sites for nonmelanoma skin cancers. Skin cancers of the eyelid, including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma, account for five to 10 percent of all skin cancers.  The best way to prevent this type is skin cancer is to reduce your exposure to UV radiation which comes with sunlight. The best way to do that is to wear sunglasses and eye glasses with advanced and more effective UV technology built into the lenses.

To learn more about skin cancer around the eyes, read the following studies:

• Cook BE Jr, Bartley GB. Treatment options and future prospects for the management of eyelid malignancies: an evidence-based update.Ophthalmology 2001 Nov; 108(11):2088-98.

• Abraham J, Jabaley M, Hoopes JE. Basal cell carcinoma of the medial canthal region. Am J Surg1973; Oct; 126(4):492-5.

The right UV lens technology makes the difference

It is also important to realize that not all lenses are the same at blocking UV rays. Even lenses that claim 100% UV protection actually don't deliver on that promise. However, newer lens technologies are tackling that problem and provide much better UV protection.  These lenses, such as Crizal Forte UV lenses come with an ESPF 25 rating which denotes far superior UV protection than ordinary lenses. To learn more read our previous post on new UV lens technologies.  Another important thing to realize is that you can get advanced UV protection in non-sun eyewear.

Sunglasses now or botox later

Sunglasses and eyewear with advanced UV protection also have cosmetic benefits. They prevent wrinkles from developing around the eyes.  That will save you thousands of dollars in botox later in life!

Image od boy in sunglasses courtesy of chrisroll / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Evil bunny sippy-cup attacks babies' eyes - reminds us that eye injuries are the leading cause of blindness in kids

This evil-looking sippy cup lives up to its sinister appearance.  Imported by Target, this little menace has attacked the eyes of six babies, causing cuts and bruises to three of them.  Luckily, are no reports of any babies going blind. Apparently, the bent ear of the vicious rabbit poked the kids in the eye.

The incident reminds us that eye injuries are the leading cause of blindness in children.  Most of these injuries happen while playing sports.

Eye injuries are the leading cause of blindness in kids

Eye injuries are the leading cause of blindness in kids and most eye injuries among kids 11 to 14 occur while playing sports. While hockey is definitely a leading cause of eye injuries, other sports which are commonly thought of as safer and not as rough as hockey are also leading causes of eye injuries in children. Chief among these are baseball and basketball.

Baseball is a leading cause of eye injuries in children 14 and under. Research from the United Sates shows that Basketball is the leading cause of eye injuries among 15 to 24 year-olds.

The sports with the highest rates of eye injuries are baseball/softball, ice hockey, racquet sports, basketball, fencing, lacrosse, paintball and boxing .

Boys are more at risk than girls

Parents have to keep a closer eye on their boys than their girls. Boys 11-15 are five times more likely to end up in the emergency room with an eye injury than girls of the same age. Most of these injuries are sports related and related to projectiles including toys, guns, darts, sticks, stones and air guns.

What can I do to prevent the risk of eye injuries?

The first thing you can do is wear protective eye wear. The proper eye wear, made of the right materials, can prevent 90% of eye injuries. Some athletes will even play better with protective eye wear because they are less afraid of getting injured.  Polycarbonate lenses are the best for impact resistance and when they are inserted into a sports eye-wear frame your child is well protected.  Learn more about protective eye wear for children.

One of the most important things you can do is to see your optometrist for a comprehensive eye health examination. This examination can reveal pre-existing conditions that can put a child (or any athlete- even an adult) at higher risk of blindness or vision loss in the event of an impact to the eye. When you know of the risk, you can take effective precautions to mitigate it and keep your kid's eyes healthy.

Read more about the sinister sippy cup here.

Most people don't know about the critical eye exam for babies in their first year of life

A survey conducted in the United States shows that most adults are unaware that 10 percent of infants have an undetected vision problem, which, if left untreated, could become serious and lead to other problems. 

It is recommended that a child go to an optometrist for a comprehensive eye examination before the age of one.  However, only 18 percent of parents who participated in the American Optometric Association's American Eye-Q survey reported taking their child to an eye doctor before the child's first birthday. 

Optometrists have special tests for babies to diagnose eye conditions, which allow babies to be examined before they can read or even speak.  It is recommended that you take your baby to the optometrist for her first eye examination at six months of age. 

An infant's visual development is critical between six and 12 months of age.  However, it is difficult to notice vision problems in infants without a thorough, comprehensive eye exam. Even if a child is hitting all his or her developmental milestones and not showing any obvious signs of problems, there could still be issues with the child's vision. Many vision problems are most effectively treated if caught early in life.  Moreover, poor vision in infants can impair development in other respects as the infant grows.

The survey indicated most parents were aware that lazy eye (amblyopia) and crossed eyes (strabismus) could be detected in infants but less than one-third were aware that cancer, farsightedness and nearsightedness could also be detected during an infant exam.

To learn more about kids' vision care guildelines click here.

Image courtesy of imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Is your child at risk for a vision disorder? Take this interactive quiz to find out.

Organizations devoted to eye care estimate that one in five children has a vision disorder.  This can be something relatively simple like nearsightedness or farsightedness that can be corrected with eyeglasses.  However, more complicated disorders are also a possibility such as strabismus, amblyopia, convergence insufficiency, binocular vision problems, lack of depth perception and the list goes on.  To help you assess your child's risk, take the quiz at the bottom of this post.

It is critical that parents take their child's eye health and vision seriously.  I remember one kindergarten student who came in for her first eye exam.  Her vision was bad enough that she had never seen her mother's face before!  For her, the world was a collection of blurry blobs and because she had always seen that way, she assumed that it was normal.  The only way to really know if your child has a vision problem is to take the child to see an optometrist.

Click here to download the BC Doctors of Optometry brochure on childrens' eye health.  It is also available in a number of other languages.  Click the language of your choice:

English
French
Chinese
Punjabi
Spanish
Filipino
Vietnamese

For more information on vision and eye care for children, click here.

Here is the quiz:

http://www.optometrists.bc.ca/code/navigate.aspx?Id=86

Can't recognize faces? You may have a brain-related vision problem.

A study in the new issue of Optometry and Vision Science helps increase our understanding of how people recognize faces and why some people have difficulty with that task.

The authors looked at adults who had one eye removed while they were babies.  The study's results show that face perception is more difficult for adults that developed with the use of only one eye. The authors propose that vision connections in the brain may be reorganized in response to the removal of one eye and suggest that the visual system requires normal binocular vision  (two eyes working together) during development in order for brain areas associated with the perception of faces to fully mature.

The study has important implications for childhood vision care and suggests that vision problems during childhood development can have lasting impacts on brain development.  Optometrists routinely check for and treat conditions that can impact normal binocular vision such as amblyopia, strabismus and convergence insufficiency. 

It is important, critical even, for parents to have their children's eyes examined every year to ensure that such a condition does not go untreated.  Most of these conditions are easier to treat while the child is very young.  Optometrists can examine a child as young as six months to ensure that their eyes and visual system are developing properly and can then monitor potential problems as the child grows and develops.  If  problems materialize they can be treated effectively if caught early. If you are a parent, click here to review my childrens' vision guidelines. For more information on optometry for children, click here.

Are your kids dangerously inactive? It shows up in their eyes.

We already know that many diseases like diabetes and heart disease show up first in the eyes.
A new study shows that changes in the back of the eye can tell us if a child is on the path to future diseases. A new Australian study published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology concludes that dangerously inactive children have narrow arteries in the retina, the back of the eye that contains the cells that send visual information to the brain.

In today's world, where children spend hours sitting in front of the TV or the computer, inactivity is a major problem. Narrow retinal arteries are a marker for increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes down the road. The study found that children with the highest levels of physical activity, one and half hours a day, had significantly wider average retinal arteries than those who spent less than half an hour a day being physically active.

The study shows us that knowledge (and an eye exam) is power. Because optometrists can detect narrow arteries in an eye health exam, we can identify the risk early enough in life and do something about it to prevent often deadly chronic diseases from showing up in adulthood. The doctor can then monitor the retina to track improvement or worsening of the arteries.

Retinal examinations are done by most optometrists during an eye health exam.