It’s been a month since the kids went back to school. For this reason a National College of Opticians-Optometrists of Spain (CNOO) encourages parents to take their children to the optical health clinic at the beginning of the school year for a check-up.
Because in addition to vision impairment, any type of undiagnosed eye disease and correction over time can affect academic performance. And among the childhood vision problems that often cause poor school performance is amblyopia, better known as lazy eye.
Therefore, it is clear from the ‘White Paper on Visual Health in Spain’ of General Council of Colleges of Opticians-Optometrists (CGCOO)which shows that lazy eye is an eye problem that affects more than 100,000 children in Spain.
In addition to this problem, there are other factors such as refractive errors (myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism), strabismus or changes in the relationship of spatial coordination that also affect children’s behavior.
Its influence is so great that it is estimated that 30% of school failure cases are related to the problem of unexplained vision.
Optometrists recommend eye exams.
In this sense, a good vision at an early age “is the key to ensure good results in school and the proper development of children, since it is the main way to get knowledge,” warned the head of the CNOO, Eduardo Morán.
Also, they make sure that in years about children “it’s easy to protect and restore any changes related to transparent development.”
What does it mean to have a lazy eye?
Amblyopia, which this Tuesday, October 15, celebrates World Day, is characterized by the loss of central vision (whether to see, to distinguish, to foresee or to see movement, among others).
This loss of vision is caused by slow or insufficient stimulation of the visual system during a critical period of early human development. Depending on the reason and time of its appearance, it can be small or difficult. Of course, early diagnosis is a “reversible disease”.
The problem is that the appearance of the lazy eye is not only a problem for vision, it also affects the quality of life and self-esteem of the child.
- Therefore, “early diagnosis and timely treatment are very important for the child to recover or gain skills quickly,” he warns. Eduardo Moran.
Amblyopia does not usually cause symptoms.
How can you tell if your child has lazy eye?
Childhood amblyopia is a disease that affects vision, but it can go undiagnosed by parents because, in most cases, there are no symptoms.
This makes it difficult to diagnose unless you go to an optical health center with multiple frequencies for a complete evaluation.
To give tools for fathers, mothers and teachers when it comes to recognizing the signs that something is wrong with their children’s visionCNOO has compiled a list of warning signs:
- If it seems that the child turns away one eye at any distance from the object to be seen.
- When the child goes outside or reads, he squints one of his eyes.
- Always rub your eyes.
- Head after an effort visible on closer inspection.
- If the child complains that he has vision problems or double vision at a distance.
- When there are problems with reading comprehension.
- Poor hand-eye coordination.
- It gets even closer when you’re doing close-up work.
- Doing well in school.
When any of these symptoms occur, and to find out what type of vision disease we are dealing with, it is important to put yourself in the hands of an optometrist.
