Teach your children to take care of their visual health

A good way to take care of your children’s visual health is to include them in prevention. So, for example, you won’t have to repeat as many times: Get away from the screen!but you will have taught them over time to use any electronic device responsibly, and they will know how to act even if you are not with them.

Ophthalmologist Courtney Kraus, from Johns Hopkins Hospital, shares some recommendations, and the first is that you promote a visual dynamic with your children from the time they are newborns. She will achieve this by interacting with them in environments with high contrast colors, both in decoration and in toys.

When you visit a new place, allow and encourage your child to focus their gaze on the things around them, and when you notice an object that interests them, allow them to look at it from all possible angles to widen their field of vision.

When playing, encourage them with activities such as hide and seek and spy, as this stimulates eye-hand coordination in babies. If your children are already walking and playing outside, look for eye protection made of shatterproof plastic (polycarbonate lenses).

When watching TV, teach them to stay 60 centimeters from the screenand practice together until you master the 20-20 rule, that is, take your eyes off the screen every 20 minutes and look at something distant for at least 20 seconds.

How do I know if my child has visual problems?

In addition to taking the child to their pediatric checkups, you can evaluate them during the daily routine, says Fitha Vásquez, a surgeon specializing in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus at Clínica Andes Visión.

1. Notice the distance your children need to do homework, draw, or view a computer or television screen. Do they have to get too close?
2. Pay attention to children’s complaints or comments, and to their expressions of not feeling comfortable looking at the board or having frequent headaches.
3. Watch for the following symptoms: poor visual acuity at distance or near, double vision, itching, burning, redness, or excessive blinking.
4. Verify the use of suitable lenses. Vázquez emphasizes that the lenses recommended for children must be safe, suitable for use in infants and flexible. Do not neglect the aesthetic issue, the glasses should contribute to self-esteem. In addition, they must fit well to be comfortable and provide clear vision. “If they are not comfortable, the child may refuse to wear them. The functionality of the lenses and the materials also have an influence, since the correct choice of material will help children feel comfortable with their visual accessory”.
5. For your college-age children, be insistent on maintain a correct posture and work with good lighting, and keep a prudent distance between the eyes and devices such as computers or cell phones. “The recommendation is that this distance be about 30 to 40 centimeters.”
6. The use of artificial tears is recommended for students from the age of 13. This resource will help a better performance in any activity that the young person develops.

Dr. Vásquez points out that the correct age to set hours of use and rest for electronic devices is from the age of five, when they already need to use them for school reasons. “The most recommended thing is that exposure to this type of screen does not exceed two hours in a row,” says the ophthalmologist. This does not mean that the little ones have a free hand. “As for children under five years of age, the use of electronic devices is not recommended.”

In addition, Dr. Kraus explains that there are certain signs that will allow you to detect possible vision problems.

1. Your child shows no interest in distant objects (they don’t attract his attention, perhaps because he can’t see them in detail).
2. Squints to see something or notices that one of the eyes wanders when trying to focus.
3. Turn your head to see better.
4. Brings objects closer to face to observe them.
5. He rubs his eyes frequently.
6. It is very sensitive to light.
7. He has poor eye-hand coordination.
8. He has no interest in reading.

Get in the habit of taking your child for frequent checkups if you have doubts about the distances to play, read or watch television: visual health professionals, optometrists and ophthalmologists, will tell you more precisely.

If you or your pediatrician suspect that your child may have a vision problem, make an appointment with an ophthalmologist and follow his instructions.

Yes there are emergency situationsa. Call your family’s pediatrician if he perceives that the child has red eyes, different from usual, tears more than usual, if the pupils are not aligned or one of them does not move or moves in the opposite direction, if you notice squint after 6 months of age. Children under 6 months of age may squint temporarily, with no consequences. Check that the pupils are the same size and have not changed color.

Visual problems and learning difficulties

Being nearsighted or having a squint does not cause learning difficulties, emphasizes the American Academy of Ophthalmology. These have a different cause, the way the brain processes what it sees and hears.

Children can also have cataracts, from the moment of birth. This is discovered during the neonatal check-up or subsequent pediatric check-ups, thus avoiding irreversible consequences.

Photographs can help diagnose eye problems. Most people show a red flash due to the flash of the camera that is reflected on the retina. A white, yellow, or black reflection in one or both eyes is not normal, and may indicate a visual condition.

Color blindness can be difficult to detect, it shows when the child is learning colors. One symptom is the inability to see the difference between shades of the same color, usually green and red or blue and yellow. (F)