Although we do not need this information to perform an eye examination, it will help us to determine if a large change has occurred from one year to the next. It also helps us to find something more suitable if you are currently unhappy with your glasses or contacts.
No! Not all sunglasses are safe. Beware of cheap sunglasses as the UV coating wears off easily thereby exposing your eyes to even more UV than if you were not wearing any sun protection at all. Please call our office for more information on how to safely protection your eyes from harmful UV rays.
Almost all adults and children use computers throughout the day. Unlike reading text on paper, viewing a computer screen is not as easy on the eyes. The contrast between the words and the background is not as sharp and therefore much more difficult to focus on. The eyes are always trying to over and under focus thereby causing eye strain and fatigue.
Adults can make their computer station more comfortable by taking the following steps:
Look away from your computer screen every 20 minutes. This will cause your eyes to relax and force you to blink, thereby decreasing irritation and burning.
Make sure you computer screen is in the correct position.The computer screen should be just below your line of sight. If it isn’t then either lower your screen or raise your chair.
Carefully check for glare and reflections on the computer screen. Position the monitor to minimize glare.
In some cases, these adjustments alone will not take care of computer vision discomfort. We always recommend a complete eye examination as some individuals need a prescription specifically for the computer. We offer an excellent office lens. Please ask us for more information!
Absolutely! Our staff is able to assist you in choosing the proper eyewear for your lifestyle.
Bringing the most advanced technology to our patients, we recommend optomap ultra-wide digital retinal imaging as part of your comprehensive eye exam. For more information, please view the optomap brochure.
Drs. Kelvin and Stacie are happy to fit children with contact lenses. There are many factors that go into deciding if the child is the right age; there isn’t a certain age that makes a child eligible for contact lens wear (for example, the child can be as young as 11 or as old as 16). The following criteria must be met:
They have a suitable prescription for contact lenses
They are mature enough to understand the dangers of contact lens over wear and mishandling the lenses.
They must demonstrate maturity during the examination.
They are mature enough to follow directions and maintain good personal hygiene. Good questions for parents to ask themselves are “does my child regularly brush his teeth, shower, keep his room clean, etc”. If not, he may not be ready to handle contacts, as they are a medical device that he is inserting in his body.
The child (not the parent) must be interested in wearing contact lenses (if there is no motivation by the child, they will not have success with their training and with the care of their lenses)
They must complete a training session on how to insert and remove the lenses from their eyes. The training also provides the child with information on how to take care of the lenses. It usually takes about an hour to complete the training and is usually performed on the same day as the eye examination.
The child MUST have a pair of glasses with their current prescription. There are times where contact lenses cannot be worn (if the child has a red, irritated eye, for example) and for when the lenses are removed at night before going to bed.
At Prosper Family Eyecare, we recommend that you bring your child in for an eye examination before he/she enters school. We also recommend bringing your child in earlier if you notice any problems or if the child’s pediatrician recommends an eye examination.
80% of the information that children learn in school is processed through their visual system. Unfortunately, it is hard for children to understand what it means to see something “blurry” because it looks normal to them.
The nurses in our area do an excellent job at screening the children for visual problems. However, there are some children that pass the screening but still have a need for glasses (far sighted children). These children can have the following symptoms:
Difficulty in school (especially reading and math)
Grades start to decline
Avoid reading/Do not read for pleasure
Suffer from headaches
If you notice any of the above, please bring your child in for a complete eye examination.
There are a few reasons that this may be true.
1. Your child may be farsighted. Although he can read 20/20 on the eye chart, his muscles are working overtime and causing him to strain. This can lead to avoidance of work, headaches, decline in grades, etc.
2. Your child may have problems perceiving what he is seeing. Approximately 15-20% of children with learning problems have visual processing (VIP)/perceptual problems that are significant to interfere with school performance.VIP is the ability of the brain to take and organize visual information from the environment and coordinate it with other sensory modalities and higher cognitive function. Development of this system is an ACTIVE process and the rate of development is faster at younger ages.VIP is an important aspect of vision, particularly for children in grades 1-5. Just because a child can see clearly & comfortably does not guarantee that he/she will be able to make use of the incoming information. We believe that visual processing skills develop in most children without the need for any special attention or intervention. However, in some children the development of visual processing skills does not keep pace with the child’s growth in other areas. This type of lag can lead to difficulty in the early grades. Examples of behavioral signs and symptoms associated with VIP deficits:
lack of coordination and balance
working slowly compared to others
skipping/re-reading lines
difficulty learning R vs. L
poor math skills
sloppy handwriting
difficulty learning the alphabet
poor spelling skills
difficulty finishing school work
difficulty copying from blackboard
not reading for pleasure
Because 80% of learning is derived from visual processing, it is extremely important that children who are struggling in school have their eyes examined. We first recommend a comprehensive eye examination. We may also recommend a visual information processing (VIP) assessment, which is a separate visit.
If your child experiences one or more of these symptoms, he or she should be evaluated by an optometrist specializing in vision therapy, to determine whether previously undiagnosed disorders of visual function may be interfering with your child’s ability to learn:
eyes strained or tired when reading
print runs together when reading
loss of place when reading
reverses letters and/or numbers
skips words when reading
difficulty remembering words learned before
uses finger to follow along when reading
bright child, but does poorly on tests
difficulty with copying from the chalkboard
difficulty with tests using Scantron sheets
complains of headaches after school
avoids reading
eyes tear or rubs eyes often when reading
complains of blur or double vision
holds books close to the eyes
poor sports performance
difficulty concentrating on homework
diagnosed with ADD or ADHD
distractible during homework
diagnosed with dyslexia
homework takes extremely long to finish
reduced reading comprehension
closes or covers one eye when reading
It is OK! Testing on toddlers is very different than testing on adults. We use pictures instead of letters and can check their prescription without ever asking them a question.
Beware of cheap sunglasses as the UV protection wears off quickly. With cheap sunglasses, your child’s eyes are exposed to more UV light than if he/she were not wearing anything at all.
Please call our office for more information regarding options for your child.
Infant Milestones (courtesy of the Optometric Extension Program Foundation and the American Optometric Association):
Birth-6 weeks
Sees in shades of gray at birth
Distance vision blurry, primary focus is 8-10 inches from baby’s face (the distance to their parents face)
Stares at surroundings while awake
Momentarily holds gaze on bright light or bright objects
Blinks at camera flash
Eyes and head move together
One eye may seem to turn at times
8-24 weeks
Eyes begin to move more widely with less head movement
Eyes begin to follow moving objects or people (8-12 weeks)
Watches parent’s face when being talked to (12-16 weeks)
Begins to watch own hands (12-16 weeks)
Eyes move in active inspection of surroundings (18-20 weeks)
Depth perception develops (20 weeks) (seeing the world in 3 dimension)
While sitting, looks at hands, food, bottle (18-24 weeks)
Now looking for, and watching more distant objects (20-28 weeks)
Color vision fully developed (24 weeks)
30-48 weeks
May turn eyes inwards while inspecting hands or toy (28-32 weeks)
Eyes more mobile and move with little head movement (30-36 weeks)
Watches activities around him for longer periods of time (30-36 weeks)
Looks for toy he drops (32-38 weeks)
Visually inspects toys he can hold (38-40 weeks)
Creeps after favorite toy when seen (40-44 weeks)
Sweeps eyes around the room to see what’s happening (44-48 weeks)
Visually responds to smiles and voices of others (40-48 weeks)
More and more visual inspection of objects and persons (46-52 weeks)
12 -18 months
Now using both hands and visually steering hand activity (12-14 months)
Visually interested in simple pictures (14-16 months)
Often holds objects very close to eyes to inspect (14-18 months)
Points to objects or people using words “look” or “see” (14-18 months)
Looks for and identifies pictures in books (16-18 months)
24-36 months
Occasionally visually inspects without needing to touch (20-24 months)
Smiles, facial brightening when views favorite object and people (20-24 months)
Likes to watch movement of wheels, egg beater, etc (24-28 months)
Watches own hand while scribbling (26-30 months)
Visually explores and steers own walking and climbing (30-36 months)
Watches and imitates other children (30-36 months)
Can now begin to keep coloring on the paper (34-38 months)
“Reads” pictures in books (34-38 months)
As optometrists, we are trained to treat red eyes on individuals of all ages. Since the eye is our specialty, we recommend bringing your child to our office for any eye related issues.
Almost all children use computers throughout the day. Unlike reading text on paper, viewing a computer screen is not as easy on the eyes. The contrast between the words and the background is not as sharp and therefore much more difficult to focus on. The eyes are always trying to over and under focus thereby causing eye strain and fatigue.
