You may not think that it is important for you to take your baby to the eye doctor for an eye examination, but if you want to protect their vision and ensure that they are developing correctly, then your child should visit an eye doctor by six months of age. Keep reading to learn a few reasons why your baby needs to visit an eye doctor at such a young age.
Eye Development Can Be Checked
When your child is young, he or she will grow rapidly, so it is important to make sure that your child is growing correctly. By six months of age, your child's vision will be a lot clearer than it was at birth. Your child will have developed a much more accurate sensitive color vision and depth perception. In truth, it will be almost as good as your own. An eye professional will perform a check on your baby's eyes to look for any congenital defects or illnesses that could impact his or her vision now or later on. BY taking the steps to have your child's vision checked now, you will be aware of the steps that need to be taken when your child gets older. Alternatively, it may just be an appointment that reassures you that everything is fine.
Early Intervention Can Take Place
There are some vision issues that can be completely eliminated if treatment is started at a young age. For instance, if your child has developed what is known as "lazy eye," early treatment with an eye patch can help to strengthen the eye. Later in life, treatment can be much more difficult. Therefore, the earlier that treatment can begin, the better the prognosis is for your child. In the event that your child requires prescription eyeglasses, it will be better to do so now, as it will help in some other developmental areas like practicing fine motor skills and recognizing facial expressions.
Screening for Illnesses Can Occur
In some rare instances, it is possible for young children to be plagued with eye cancers. Each year in America, there are roughly 200 to 300 children who are diagnosed with retinoblastoma, accounting for roughly two percent of all cancers in children under 15 years of age. Since your young child is unable to communicate with you regarding vision issues, an early eye exam is the best chance of detecting and preventing this condition as well as others. Eye cancer can not only threaten your child's vision but their overall health as well. The good news is that there are several treatment options available if it is caught early on.
For more information, consult with an eye doctor like Southern Colorado Eye Care Associates.
Share26 June 2020
I've been wearing glasses since I was 10 and contact lenses since I was 16. Because of this, I've always been very conscious of eye health and its importance. I decided to make my first blog about everything I've learned relating to vision and optical goods. The first thing I want to do is debunk a myth about contact lenses that can truly harm your eyes: Many people think that is okay to wear a pair of disposable contact lenses for much longer than the eye doctor recommends. It is very important to toss out your disposable contacts on the recommended schedule, or you put yourself at risk of serious eye infections. Hopefully you can learn some things that will help you see better.
