ABCs of eyesight

With school just around the corner, parents are busy getting their children ready. Books, book loan schemes, uniforms. You name it.{{more}}

In the hustle and bustle of things it is easy to forget that your child needs to have good vision to function well in school.

If you are like most parents, your child’s eyesight will be of extreme importance to you.

Here are the ABCs of signs and smptoms that may signal trouble in vision during your child’s school years. You should look for these in your child.

A. Appearance. Your child could have frequent styes and encrusted lids, watery eyes, red eyes, crossed eyes, or eyes pointed out, up or down — those are things that you should look for.

B. Behaviour. Look for head turning, excessive head movement, rocking back and forth, rigid body posture, avoidance of close work, and squinting or closing of one eye. Also, look for sitting too close to the TV, using a finger to read, constant rubbing of the eyes and blinking with much effort.

C. Complaints. Look for double vision, burning while reading, itchy eyes, nausea or dizziness, headaches, blurred vision, or eyes tiring quickly while reading.

When evaluating your child for vision problems or dyslexia, you should also look for the following signs while listening and watching them read:

1. Loss of place often when reading.

2. Poor reading comprehension.

3. Frequent omission of words.

4. Short attention span for reading.

5. Writing uphill or downhill on paper.

6. Failure to recognize the same word in the next sentence.

7. Rereading or skipping lines unknowingly.

8. Failure to visualize what is read.

9. Confusing two or more words with the same or similar beginnings.

10. Repeated confusion of the left/right directions.

11. Poor orientation of drawings on the page.

12. Quick loss of interest.

If any of these symptoms or signs show up, you should contact your eye doctor for a complete eye examination. So folks, remember your ABCs and look out for the signs.

For the month of August Eyes R Us will be conducting Free Eye Exams for children between the ages of five and 18. This is by appointment only. Call 456-1210

Remember to keep an eye on your eyes.

Dr Kenneth Onu is a resident Consultant Ophthalmologist at the Beachmont Eye Institute/Eyes R Us Send questions to: Beachmont@gmail.com

Tel: 784 456-1210