The health of your child's eyes is important, and pediatric eye care will ensure your child’s vision remains as clear as possible. If you are worried about the safety of pediatric eye exams, you shouldn't be. It is safe to have your child's eyes tested as early as infancy. While it is possible to perform an infant pediatric eye exam, many parents wait until their children are ready to start preschool. You should understand the importance of scheduling pediatric eye exams at Johnson Vision Development Center in Jackson, TN.
What Our Optometrist Looks for During Pediatric Eye Exams
During your child's eye exam, our eye doctor will have them read from the Snellen eye chart to your child’s visual acuity. This test will determine if your child has a refractive error such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. Our eye doctor will also test how well your child's eyes work together.
Have Your Child's Vision Tested Before They Start Preschool
If your child is going to succeed in school, he or she will need to be able to see clearly. Your child will need to see the board easily. If they cannot, it can result in poor academic performance. If your child has a visual issue such as a lazy eye, it should be caught early. Early treatment will be more effective and prevent the issue from taking a toll on your child’s academic performance. If our optometrist diagnoses your child with myopia, Ortho-K lenses or low-dose atropine drops can prevent the refractive error from progressing.
Common Tests for Preschool-Aged Children
There are a few tests that your eye doctor will perform during a pediatric eye exam. These include:
LEA symbols: If your child isn't able to read letters yet, our optometrist will use LEA symbols. This test is set up the same way as the Snellen chart. Instead of letters, there will be objects your child can identify such as an apple, house, circle, or square.
Retinoscopy: During this test, your optometrist will shine a light into your child's eyes to observe the reflection of the retina. They do this to detect cloudiness, which is a sign of a significant refractive error or congenital cataracts.
Random dot stereopsis: This test is designed to determine how well your child's eyes work as a team by having him or her look at dot patterns.
Contact Our Optometrist in Jackson, TN for Pediatric Eye Care
For more information on pediatric eye care or to schedule an appointment with our optometrist, call Johnson Vision Development Center today at (731) 660-1100.