Top 3 Reasons To Take Your Child To An Eye Doctor

Most parents want to do everything possible to keep their child in good health, and part of doing this includes taking a child to see an eye doctor when necessary. An eye doctor can diagnose and treat a variety of eye problems in children. If you have reason to believe that your child has a serious eye problem, you may want to consider making an appointment with a pediatric eye doctor who is very experienced in treating children. Some of the common signs that your child can benefits from seeing an eye doctor include the following:

Red, Watery Eyes with Discharge

Conjunctivitis, commonly called pink eye, is a very common eye infection. Young children tend to develop pink eye easily because kids are often in close contact with other children and often forget to wash their hands before touching their eyes. While pink eye is not dangerous and will not negatively affect a child's vision, it is very contagious. Pink eye can either be caused by bacteria or a virus--bacterial pink eye can be treated quickly with antibiotic eye drops. An eye doctor will be able to determine if your child has pink eye and then decide if antibiotic eye drops are necessary. 

Lazy Eye

When a child has a lazy eye, one of the eyes may drift of center and not remain focused on the right line of sight. A lazy eye in a child should not be ignored--the sooner it is diagnosed and treated, the more likely it is for the problem to be corrected. Several different conditions can cause a lazy eye, and the type of condition will determine the course of treatment. Some children will need to wear an eye patch for an extended amount of time, and there are also eye drops that can be used. In the event of a severe lazy eyes, surgery on the eye muscles may be necessary.

Symptoms of Poor Vision

Young children with poor vision may never mention anything because they don't know anything else and don't realize that their vision is poor. Thus, as a parent, it is important to pay attention to your child and watch out for any symptoms of poor vision. These symptoms can include squinting, sitting too close to the television, rubbing eyes frequently, poor eye-hand coordination, and not wanting to work on activities that require visual acuity, such as coloring or doing a puzzle. 

Reach out to the office of an eye doctor, such as JC Reiss, to learn more.