Your child is very precious to you and his/her health means a lot to you. When it comes to your child’s health, you often get a lot of questions. Particularly, when the matter is connected with the healthy eyesight of your kid, you might wonder how often should my child to visit a pediatric optometrist Calgary.
The simple answer is that you should take your child to see a pediatric optometrist for the first time between the 6th and 9th month of birth. You should do this before the kid enters school at least. Thereafter, you can take him/her once a year for 19 years. However, this rule might not apply to all kids. In case, your child needs frequent examinations, the pediatric optometrist will give appropriate customized recommendations.
Spotting Vision Problems in Kids
Kids, in general, have no frame of reference for what normal vision should be. So, they cannot articulate when something is wrong with their vision.
As a loving parent, you should watch for signs and symptoms that suggest that your child might have problems with eyesight. Some of these symptoms might arise as a result of infections. Otherwise, they can also show up due to untreated refractive errors like astigmatism, farsightedness, and near-sightedness.
Signs to Watch Out
In case, you find one or more of the signs and symptoms mentioned below, you can fix an appointment with a pediatric optometrist in Calgary:
- Is your child tilting her head to see?
- Does she show high sensitivity to or avoid bright light>
- Is your child blinking more often than usual?
- Does she hold objects close to her face to see?
- Has she become clumsier than before?
- Is she shying away from activities that need good distance vision?
- Is she struggling to focus or make eye contact?
- Does the child struggle to concentrate in school?
- Is she having trouble with following objects or people with her eyes?
- Is she avoiding her favorite activities like watching TV, playing sports, or reading
- Is the child covering or closing one eye to see?
- Does she have watery, itchy, or red eyes
- Is she rubbing or squinting her eyes frequently?
- Do you see that her eyes have become misaligned recently?
- Is she frequently complaining of eye pain or headache?
- Do you see any eye discharge?
If your answers to any of these questions are affirmative, it is better to take her to a pediatric optometrist. The expert will carry out a thorough examination to understand the root cause of the problem. Thereafter, the optometrist will provide the right solution to safeguard the vision of your loving child.
Conclusion
Not only for adults, kids also need regular eye examinations to prevent any issues with the eyes. You can choose one of the best pediatric optometrists near you for regular examinations. Make sure to choose a clinic that specializes in child optometry. The experience of the optometrist also holds high importance.