Parent Newbies And Child Eyeglasses

If you don't think that a one-year-old can be prescribed eyeglasses, think again. There are many children, especially those with special needs, who are prescribed glasses before the age of three. If you are a parent with 20/20 vision and have never had experience with glasses yourself, this could be a whole new world, but not the kind that Aladdin was talking about. This article is to give you a quick rundown on toddler eye exams and prescriptions.

How Do They Know?

First of all, many people wonder how optometrists can even know that a child needs glasses when they cannot read. We are all used to looked at the letters, or even symbols, on a chart and telling the doctor what it is or which way it is facing. For children too young to read or too young too talk, this just isn't going to work. Now what? Believe it or not, eye doctors can tell whether your child needs glasses by a few different things. Primarily these three should about cover it:

  • First, the eye doctor may see if something, like a mechanical toy, that is moving far away will get the child's attention.
  • Second, they may have the child follow a light back and forth and also check peripheral vision that way.
  • Third, they will turn off the lights in the exam room and look at the child's eyes with a small, focused light. This way they can see into pupil of the eye to detect the shape, or length, of the eye. This can determine if the child is farsighted or nearsighted.

Symbol Cheat Sheet

Once you get the prescription, such as from Buffalo Grove Eye Care Center, you may have questions as to what the different letters, words, or symbols really mean. This is especially true if you take on the task of ordering frames and lenses online or over the phone. For the first time, however, it is recommend to go into a specialist and make sure you are getting the best for your child. But to get you a step ahead, here is the following cheat sheet for a few common symbols:

  • OD stands for oculus dexter , which is the right eye.
  • OS stands for oculus sinister, which is the left eye.
  • SPH stands for sphere, which is the power of the lens.
  • ADD means the added magnifying power needed for the lenses.

Share