Your child’s eyes are incredibly important. They provide your child with clear vision to learn, play, and interact with the world around them. Your child’s vision makes up 80% of their learning potential, which can be huge for a young mind.
Regular eye exams are essential for children to maintain their ocular health and vision. Taking them to see an pediatric optometrist at certain stages in their life will ensure their eyes are developing normally and that any signs of eye disease are detected early.
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As your child grows, their eyesight will change rapidly. Having an eye care professional evaluate their ocular health and vision will check that everything is developing as expected, and any early signs of disease are treated promptly.
Common eye diseases that occur in childhood include:
Please have your child’s eyes assessed at birth to ensure they are healthy. Your optometrist will likely perform a red reflex test used to screen for abnormalities at the back of the eye and other vision-threatening conditions. During this test, if any signs of disease are detected, further examination may be necessary.
Your child’s first comprehensive eye exam should be between the ages of 6 and 9 months. This will involve a few tests to assess their eyes’ health, eye muscle movement and alignment, and how their eyes focus.
If you notice your child’s eyes look crossed or misaligned, contact us for a full assessment.
When your child is between the ages of 2 and 5, you should have their eyes thoroughly examined again. When your child enters school, they will begin to need their eyes more to learn and develop. Having their eyes assessed at this point will test their visual development, depth perception, hand-eye coordination, and visualization skills to ensure they are on-par for their age.
Before your child enters Kindergarten, have their eyes examined. If it is determined they need eyeglasses, Alberta’s Eye See… Eye Learn program will provide their glasses free of charge.
Once your child is in school, be sure to have their eyes examined annually to monitor for any changes to their eye health or vision. Approximately 60% of children experience reading difficulties due to an undiagnosed or untreated vision problem, so it is crucial to examine them to prevent any discomfort or unnecessary challenges in school.
Although regular eye exams are essential to maintain your child’s eye health, some symptoms can begin to develop between appointments. It is essential to be aware of the common signs and symptoms of eye diseases:
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We’ve all experienced that uncomfortable sensation of feeling as though something is in our eye. You’re blinking like crazy, sure that there’s a speck stuck in your eye, yet no matter how much you look there’s nothing to be found.
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An Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) test may sound like a mouthful, but the process itself is more straightforward. An OCT is a non-invasive test that allows your optometrist to take detailed cross-section pictures of the back of your eye. Including an OCT test during your eye exam allows for early detection and monitoring of various […]
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Contact lenses and glasses (regular and sun) require different prescriptions. But why?
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Constant use of our phone screens can lead to digital eye strain, but there are ways to help reduce your risk of the uncomfortable symptoms and further eye damage. Here are 6 tips to prevent eye damage from your phone:
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20-20-20 rule
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Exposing contact lenses to water can introduce various risks to your eye health, so it’s best to avoid swimming with contact lenses whenever possible. […]
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Healthy Vision for Our Little Ones We all want our children to be happy and successful in their endeavours, and healthy vision can play a massive part in a child’s overall wellness. Our kids grow up fast, and their eyes develop right alongside them. How can you tell if they’re hitting the correct visual milestones? […]
Contact lenses can be a great alternative to glasses. For many people, contact lenses are easy to wear, more comfortable, and more aesthetically pleasing than traditional eyeglasses. Even though many people prefer contacts over glasses, they do require more maintenance and care. Contact lenses can be a lot more work than glasses and need to […]
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Our promise to you. Wow! What a whirlwind these last few months have been; we’ve all seen some challenges during these unprecedented times. On April 30th our government made the announcement that allied health services can return to offering non-urgent routine care. We are beyond happy to announce that we are open once again, doing […]
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A note: if this post looks familiar to you and you’re a newsletter subscriber, that’s because this post was initially released as a newsletter to our patients. If you’d like to sign up for our newsletter, please sign up here. Do you suffer from dry eyes? Have you tried multiple drops and found only temporary […]
Here is a brief overview of Alberta Health’s vision coverage. Children Alberta Health covers one complete eye exam for children and teens under the age of 19 every benefit year (a benefit year is July 1 – June 30). They will also cover one partial exam and one diagnostic procedure. Please note that Alberta Health […]
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