When my sister was in elementary school, she started always sitting in the front row of desks at school. One of her teachers noticed this habit and arranged a meeting with my parents. This caring teacher told my parents that she thought my sister needed glasses. When my sister visited an optometrist, this professional diagnosed her with a severe case of astigmatism. He also informed my parents that she was nearsighted as well. Due to her eye issues, my sister had to start wearing glasses all of the time. Her new glasses helped her tremendously in school. She no longer had to sit in the front of the classroom in order to view the notes placed on the board. On this blog, you will discover the importance of getting your kids’ eyes checked by an optometrist before enrolling them in school.
If you have a child, chances are that at some point you will have to deal with pink eye and visits to the eye doctor to help combat the condition. Also known as conjunctivitis, it is a common condition among youngsters in daycare and grade school. However, you do not have to be resigned to letting your child suffer from conjunctivitis if you take precautions to help prevent it and learn how to detect early symptoms. Keep the following primer on conjunctivitis handy when you suspect that your child may have a contagious pink eye infection.
Causes and Symptoms
You may be surprised to learn that pink eye can actually be caused by four things: bacteria, viruses, allergens and eye irritants. Pink eye caused by bacteria and viruses is contagious and can spread quickly among a population of kids in a school or camp. Teammates on athletic teams can also spread pink eye to each other.
Allergies and substances that irritate the eye such as pool chlorine can also cause conjunctivitis. When you notice the following symptoms, make an appointment with your optometrist to have your child's eye's examined:
Kids may also began complaining that they have something in their eye that they cannot get out.
Optometrist Exam Basics
If any of the symptoms for pink eye last more than a few days, call your family's eye doctor. Make sure the you keep detailed notes about symptoms to give the eye care professional a clear idea of symptoms and if your child has complained about changes in their ability to see clearly.
In addition, let the eye doctor know what you have done to treat the symptoms, especially if you have given your child prescription medication.
Treatment and Prevention
For bacterial infections, optometrists sometimes provide ointment or eye drops to control the symptoms. For conjunctivitis caused by allergies, a doctor may prescribe an anti-allergy medication.
If your child is older and wears contacts, they may have to stop wearing them and use their eyeglasses until the infection is gone. You do not want to risk your child re-infecting their eye with contact lenses that have been exposed to conjunctivitis. Make sure to disinfect the contact lens case or just buy a new one and throw the old one away.
In order to prevent other members of your family from getting pink eye, clean all linens, towels and wash clothes. You should also wash your child's toys and athletic gear.
You do not want to contribute to a pink eye outbreak in the community, so keep your child at home from school until the conjunctivitis goes away. Check out the rest of this blog for additional reading.
Share16 February 2016
