“Children have started a new school year and just as parents worry about their children having their school supplies on time so that they can make the most of their classes, they should make sure that they do not suffer any visual problems so that they can learn optimally,” says Dr. Alvaro Acosta, ophthalmologist at our clinic, who provides us with valuable information on this topic that is so important for the ocular health of our young patients.

Can ophthalmological conditions have an impact on your children’s academic performance?

During the school stage, children develop a series of cognitive, perceptual, motor, and motor-perceptual skills and abilities, among others. When there are problems in binocular vision, accommodation, visual motor perception, and, above all, visual acuity, children have poor school performance.

When to do an ophthalmologic control in children?

The beginning of ophthalmologic checkups does not have a pre-established age, even when there are visual risk factors from birth, being a comprehensive evaluation through the use of a slit lamp, flashlight, retinoscope, and indirect ophthalmoscope.

Main ophthalmologic conditions in children

During childhood, different visual problems occur, among which are refractive defects such as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism, which cause blurred vision. Amblyopia or lazy eye, which generates a decrease in visual acuity in one or both eyes; strabismus, which is the deviation of one or both eyes.  Depending on the child’s condition, the specialist will recommend the most appropriate treatment for the case.

What symptoms may indicate visual problems in children?

If you notice that your child gets tired, gets distracted, or avoids reading, or when he/she does read, he/she does not understand or skips words or repeats them, has poor handwriting, squints, frowns when reading, gets too close to things to see or has continuous headaches, these are symptoms that he/she is not seeing correctly, and it is necessary to take him/her to the ophthalmologist.

Remember:

It is essential for parents and educators to be attentive to possible signs of visual problems in children. Regular visits to the ophthalmologist are key, as they will allow early identification of any condition that prevents normal vision, thus contributing to improve the academic performance and well-being of our children at home.

Dr. Alvaro Acosta
Ophthalmologist at Clínica Ricardo Palma