About Getting A Babies Eye’s Checked..what Do They Do?
December 9, 2009 by admin
Filed under FAQ on advance for astigmatism
Myself and my daughter’s father both have bad vision. His eyesight is horrible, while mine isn’t too bad, but I do have astigmatism. Our daughter is 10 months, but since both ours and our families vision are so bad I think we should go get her eyes checked. She’s only 10 months, but can they check for vision problems that early? Could they even do anything if she were to have something wrong with her eyes?
Yes, they can check for vision problems that early. My daughter had her first eye exam at 9 months. They’ll do some tests – mostly observe how your daughter focuses on things like toys and whether either eye will turn in or out when covered. They’ll probably also want to dilate her eyes and look at her eyes with a light to see the shape of her lenses. That can tell them if she’s near or farsighted.
A baby her age can have glasses if they need them. My daughter has worn glasses since she was 14 months old (she’s farsighted), and I know parents with children as young as a couple of months old in glasses. It will depend on what (if any) vision problem she has, whether or not glasses would be prescribed.
Are you in the US? There is a program called InfantSEE which provides free vision screenings for children under 1 year old by optometrists specially trained to work with babies. It may be worth checking them out – http://www.aoa.org/infantsee.xml
At that age, it is a simple examination. They will check for “lazy eye” and check for astigmatism. They are starting to recommend children with family history of these things be checked at 6 months old. Yes, they can do some things. They do have glasses for infants and they can also try patching for “lazy eye.” The earlier you catch it the better.
I have recently learned this information. My son has “lazy eye,” far-sightedness, and astigmatism. All of his doctors would say they did not see anything and to wait it out, but waiting it out too long is dangerous and hard to fix. My son may need surgery on his eyes because of me being told to wait so much. (We are exhausting all other options first) Now my two year old and newborn will need to have their eyes checked as soon as possible. For my two year old in the next couple of months and for my newborn at 6 months old. The surgery, if needed is easier and with less complications when the child is younger. When referring to surgery, I am talking about the “lazy eye” Remember optometrists do not generally check a child’s eyes that are younger than 5. You will need to see an ophthalmologist. You may need a referral through your insurance carrier.
Astigmatism can be genetic and an eye doctor can see this very easily. Far-sightedness, nearsightedness is hard to determine until they are older.
Kids eyesight changes constantly as they grow, and when they are babies is when they grow fastest. Most babies have good eyesight and its only when they get bigger that it starts to deteriorate (if its going to). I would only talk to your health visitor/ped if you have a specific reason to worry based on the behaviour of your daughter – if your daughter seems to have problems either seeing small objects (my son for instance can see the tiniest bits of dirt or fluff on the floor and tries to eat them and even sees them from across the room, so no worries about his eyesight even though my hubby and I are both blind as bats!) or doesn’t recognise you when you enter the room until you’re really close to her, then get her checked out but otherwise don’t worry. They probably wouldn’t give her glasses anyway until shes at least 3 or 4.
they check for things like lazy eye and such but as for other vision issues they will have to wait for the time when your daughter is able to tell you when she can’t see something clearly. I am blind in one eye and they didn’t know until I was 2. I would run into things on that side and stuff. then I went to the doctor and they asked me to cover up my good eye and asked if I could see what they were showing me and I said I couldn’t. They then dilated my eyes and did a thorough examination and saw that my optic nerve was not connected properly. So legally I am blind out of one eye. My suggestion to you is have her checked now for the basic stuff like lazy eye and then take her back when she is able to tell you more. Oh and don’t freak something like my situation is rare. Good luck
Call a pediatric ophthalmologist.
I have seen very young kids with glasses that hook behind the ears