PEDIATRIC EYE CARE

Dr. Harger loves children. That's one reason why he interacts so well with them during their frequent eye health examinations.

Mikey's Second Exam at 18 Months

Why should children and infants have eye exams at such an early age? One should understand that babies are not born with the innate ability to "see", just as babies are not born with the ability to walk or talk. Walking and talking are things children learn to do as they develop. The ability to "see" is also learned as they develop. A parent would not expect a child to learn to walk at the expected age if the child was born with a physical handicap such as a clubfoot. Likewise, if a child has one or both eyes that have a refractive error or other defect that affects the eyes' focusing or tracking ability, then the child's development will also be negatively affected. Because uncorrected ocular problems, such as refractive errors, binocular problems, cataracts, or retinal defects can have such a dramatic affect upon the child's seeing and learning process, a child should have its first eye examination by an optometrist at six (6) months of age.

Subsequent eye exams are then recommended every six (6) to twelve (12) months until age three (3) years. While the child is in school, yearly eye examinations by an eye doctor are indicated. Some two (2) to five (5) percent of children have one or more of the following abnormal ocular conditions: Amblyopia or lazy eye is a condition where the brain uses primarily only one of the eyes, and the sight in the other eye is switched off. The lazy eye is not correctable to 20/20 even with glasses or contacts. Upon examination the ocular tissue appears to be entirely normal in physical appearance. However, the lazy eye will not work properly. Anisometropia is a condition where one eye has a significantly different refractive error then the other eye. For example one eye may be farsighted, and the other eye may be nearsighted. Strabismus or cross-eyes occur when the two eyes do not work in unison with each other. One eye may turn in, called esotropia, or may turn our, called exotropia, or may turn up or down, called hypertropia or hypotropia. When a child's eyes do not work together properly, this problem is known as a binocularity condition. Many times, the above problems are not noticed or seen by either the child or the family.

Y I K E S !   Not Eye Drops!!!

 

Auto-refractors allow the doctor to determine the refractive state of the eye without any verbal response from the patient. This type of instrumentation is extremely valuable in detecting problems in young children. Use of eye drops to open the iris of the eye (dilating) and to relax the focusing muscle (cycloplegic exam), allow the doctor to discover problems that would not otherwise be found. Early detection and correction of eye problems are necessary to allow proper visual development, and allow the child to learn to "see" normally.

 
 

M.L. Harger, O.D.

Jerrad Mills,O.D.
2009 Center Street
Deer Park, Texas 77536
Ph 281-479-4570
Pg 281-661-9037
Fx 281-479-7895

Email dpvc@sbcglobal.net

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Deer Park Texas