Kids Corner

Zeidan Eyecare centre is proud to offer over 200 frames for children. With a data base of 17% children patients on our books they are an important sector tom provide the very best in quality and styles. Should Children have sunglasses?

	*Protecting your child’s eyes is the most important thing you want to do*.

Quality Sunglasses may save their skin and eyes later in life by blocking the sun's powerful ultraviolet rays (UVR).
Learn more in our For Your Eyes section
Children under age 10 are at a high risk for skin and eye damage from UVR. The skin on their eyelids and around their eyes is more delicate and vulnerable than adult skin. "And until about age 10, the lens of a child's eye is clear, allowing greater solar penetration and thus greater UVR-induced ocular changes," explains Adelaide A. Hebert, MD, professor and vice chair of dermatology, University of Houston. "After that, the lens starts to become more opaque, providing better protection."
UVR exposure causes 90 percent of all skin cancers. In addition, retinal exposure to UVR is associated with cataracts and macular degeneration, both causes of vision impairment. UVR damage builds over time, so the sooner you start protecting your children's eyes from the sun, the lower their risk will be of ever developing future eye problems. If they require prescription glasses, they should also wear prescription sunglasses.
Keep these rules in mind when buying sunglasses for children:

Find glasses that block 99-100 percent of both UVA and UVB rays. The more skin covered, the better, so look for large, wraparound styles.

Use playground-proof lenses. Kids run, trip, fall, and bounce off objects at alarming speed.

Their sunglasses should match this active lifestyle. Find impact-resistant, scratch-proof lenses. Avoid glass lenses, unless recommended by a doctor; plastic is safer and polycarbonate is even better (more expensive)

Let them choose. You're not the one who has to wear the glasses or hear other kids' comments on them. Children – especially older kids and teens – are likelier to actually wear them if they select them themselves.

Eyeball the glasses. Check to see that lenses are not scratched or warped or fitting poorly. Too tight or too loose. Very young children may not know to complain if the glasses are flawed, so it's up to you to check before buying.

Double Up. Sunglasses block only rays that come directly through the lenses. The skin around the eyes remains vulnerable to rays entering though the sides or from the top, or reflected upwards off snow, sand, water, etc. Wearing a wide-brimmed hat is a good backup, blocking out many rays from above and even from the sides, while also shielding the face and neck. "We need to teach children early the importance of wearing sunglasses – just as we teach them to brush their teeth and wear a seatbelt, so that they develop good habits that last for life," concludes Dr. Hebert.

High-Energy Visible Light (HEV light)/Blue Light

Some of the latest eye research has implicated HEV light – high-energy visible light in the violet/blue spectrum – as a contributor to the development of cataracts, macular degeneration and other serious eye maladies. HEV falls into the near-UV range, from almost 400 to over 500 nm in the visible spectrum. Blue light, roughly between 440 and 490 nm within the HEV spectrum, can damage the retina over time, leading to macular degeneration. The retina is the ocular membrane where images are formed and transmitted to the brain; the macula, the area of sharpest vision located near the centre of the retina, is the most likely area to be damaged. Macular Degeneration is the most likely cause of blindness in the World.

Are Contact Lenses a Good Choice for Kids

A common question many parents have about contact lenses and kids is: "When is my child old enough to wear contact lenses?"
Physically, your child’s eyes can tolerate contact lenses at a very young age. We even fit some babies with contact lenses due to eye conditions present at birth. In short- there is no age limit on contact lenses, they are fitted when the child is in a position to want them and communicate with parents and practitioner. Some advocate from 9years of age, in our experience 4years is as competent with contact lenses as adults.
A matter of maturity
So the important question is whether or not your child is mature enough to insert, remove and take care of their contact lenses. How they handle other responsibilities at home will give you a clue. If your child has poor grooming habits and needs frequent reminders to perform everyday chores, they may not be ready for the responsibility of wearing and caring for contact lenses. But if they are conscientious and handle these things well, they may be excellent candidates for contact lens wear, regardless of their age.
Contact lenses for sports
Many kids are active in sports. Contact lenses offer several advantages over glasses for these activities. Contacts don’t fog up, get streaked with perspiration or get knocked off like glasses can. They also provide better peripheral vision than glasses, which is important for nearly every sport. There are even contact lenses with special tints to help your child see the ball easier.
For sports, soft contact lenses are usually the best choice. They are larger and fit closer to the eye than rigid gas permeable (GP) lenses, so there’s virtually little chance they will dislodge or get knocked off during competition.
Controlling nearsightedness
If your young son or daughter is nearsighted, rigid gas permeable (GP) contacts may be the best choice. In some cases, GP contact lenses may slow the progression of myopia in children. (Soft lenses don’t offer this potential benefit.) Also, GP lenses are more durable and often provide sharper vision than soft contacts.
Building self-esteem with contact lenses
Contact lenses can do wonders for some children’s self-esteem. Many kids don't like the way they look in glasses and become overly self-conscious about their appearance because of them. Wearing contact lenses can often elevate how they feel about themselves and improve their self confidence. Sometimes, even their school performance and participation in social activities improves after they switch to contact lenses.
Glasses are still required
If your child chooses to wear contact lenses, they still need an up-to-date pair of eyeglasses. Contact lenses worn on a daily basis should be removed at least an hour before bedtime to allow the eyes to “breathe.” Also, there will be times when your child may want to wear their glasses instead of contact lenses. And contact lenses should be removed immediately any time they cause discomfort or eye redness.

Don’t push contacts on your kids
Motivation is often the most important factor in determining whether your son or daughter will be a successful contact lens wearer. If you wear contact lenses yourself and love them, that still doesn’t mean they are the right choice for your child. Some children like wearing glasses and have no desire wear contact lenses.
We can usually tell at your child’s contact lens consultation if they really want to wear contact lenses. If it appears that they would rather stay in glasses, we will certainly respect their decision – and you should, too.
Sometimes it’s just a matter of timing. Often, a child may feel they don’t want contacts, but a year or two later, they do. There’s always time to make that decision.

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before with +10.00 Glasses	With Soft Silcon gel Contact lenses
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Before with -3.00 Glasses	With daily Soft lenses
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Cosmetic lenses to enhance balance and vision in microphthalmic coloboma case.

Learning-Related Vision Problems

There’s no question that good vision is important for learning. To make sure your child has the visual skills they need for school, the first step is to make sure that any nearsightedness, farsightedness and/or astigmatism is fully corrected. But there are other, less obvious learning-related vision problems you should know about as well.
Your child can have “perfect” eyesight and still have vision problems that can affect their learning and classroom performance. Visual acuity (how well your child can see letters on a wall chart) is just one aspect of good vision, and it’s not even the most important one. Many nearsighted kids may have trouble seeing the board in class, but they read exceptionally well and excel in school.
Other important visual skills needed for learning include:’
Eye movement skills – Eye focusing abilities –Eye teaming skills –Binocular vision skills – Visual perceptual skills – Visual-motor integration ( see PASD).
Deficiencies in any of these important visual skills can significantly affect your child’s learning ability and school performance. Many kids have vision problems that affect learning
one study indicates 13% of children between the ages of 9 and 13 suffer from moderate to severe convergence insufficiency (an eye teaming problem that can affect reading performance), and as many as one in four school-age children may have at least one learning-related vision problem.
Signs and symptoms of learning-related vision problems
There are many signs and symptoms of learning-related vision disorders, including:

Blurred distance or near vision, particularly after reading or other close work
Frequent headaches or eye strain
Difficulty changing focus from distance to near and back
Double vision, especially during or after reading
Avoidance of reading
Easily distracted when reading
Poor reading comprehension
Loss of place, repetition, and/or omission of words while reading
Letter and word reversals
Poor handwriting
Hyperactivity or impulsiveness during class
Poor overall school performance

Should you suspect one or many of the above, come in for advice, after all CHILDREN are entitled to FREE eye examination under the NHS. Other investigative assessments may be required (privately funded) see PASD
Assessment of children’s visual needs:
A n assessment of children’s visual needs includes tests performed in a routine eye exam, plus additional tests to detect learning-related vision problems. These extra tests include an assessment of eye focusing, eye teaming, and eye movement abilities, visual perceptions, computerised overlays and many other specialist tests( refer to PASD and Learning disorders) Also, depending on the type of problems your child is having, we may refer your child to other development specialist.
Programme for Academic Skills Development and Vision therapy
If it turns out your child has a learning-related vision problem that cannot be corrected with regular glasses or contact lenses, then special reading glasses or vision therapy may help. Vision therapy is a program of eye exercises and other activities specifically tailored for each patient to improve their vision skills. (see PASD)
When its time for an eye exam
If you suspect something is seriously wrong with your baby’s eyes in their first few months of life (a bulging eye, a red eye, excess tearing, or a constant misalignment of the eyes, for example) take your child to your GP or specialist optometrist immediately.
For routine eye care, the recommendation for your baby’s first eye exam is when they are six months old. Though your baby can’t yet read letters on a wall chart, your optometrist can perform non-verbal testing to determine visual acuity, detect excessive or unequal amounts of nearsightedness, For an eye appointment please ring 01827 54411.
Computer and KIDS.
Surveys show the average child spends three hours daily on a computer while surfing the Internet, doing homework, talking online with friends and playing video games
A connection between computer use and myopia?
Research showed that sustained computer use puts kids at higher risk for childhood myopia (nearsightedness). Computer use, especially among youngsters whose eyes are still changing, may be the reason for this disparity.
Why computers can be hard on kids’ eyes?
Computer use stresses the eyes more than reading a book or magazine because it’s harder to maintain focus on computer-generated images than on printed images.
This is especially true for young children, whose visual system is not fully developed.
Children may be especially vulnerable to computer-related vision problems because:

Children have a limited degree of self-awareness. They may perform a task on the computer for hours with few breaks. This prolonged activity can cause focusing and eyestrain problems.
Children assume that what they see and how they see is normal – even if their vision is impaired or slowly deteriorating.
Children are smaller than adults. Because computer workstations are often arranged for adult use, this can increase the risk of children sitting too near the screen or adopting unusual postures that can lead to eyestrain and neck, shoulder and back pain.

Computer Glasses

When you work at a computer for any length of time, it's common to experience blurred vision and other symptoms. If you're under age 40, blurred vision during computer use may be due to your eyes being unable to remain accurately focused on your screen for sustained periods. Or you may have a hard time quickly and accurately changing focus, such as when you shift your gaze from your monitor to your keyboard and back again. This problem, called lag of accommodation, can cause eyestrain
So what can you do to make your eyes more comfortable and function more efficiently during computer use? Have specially-designed computer glasses.
Customized computer glasses can make a world of difference. These special-purpose glasses are prescribed specifically to reduce eyestrain and give you the most comfortable vision at your computer. Anti-reflective (AR) coating can make your computer glasses even more comfortable. This coating reduces glare caused by reflections of overhead fluorescent lighting that can occur in uncoated eyeglass lenses.

Strabismus

Strabismus is the word used by eye care professionals for the conditions “squint”.

The squint may be either or both eyes and the eye(s) can move inwards, outwards, upwards, downwards or obliquely. However commonly, there are four main strabismus conditions as seen below. All children should have visual assessment and thorough eye examination by qualified pediatric optometrist and orthoptist (mainly hospital based).

If the condition is discovered early in life (2-4 years of age) it is more likely any strabismus found may be resolved and vision restored. Eyes mature by the age of 6-7 years; to that effect any undiagnosed and uncorrected visual defect found after 7 years of age will most likely to remain uncorrected for the rest of their lives.

Zeidan Eye Care Centre is run by specialist Optometrist with over 30 years general optometric experience and over 11 years pediatric responsibilities as the chief hospital optometrist in Tamworth BLT NHS Trust.

Zeidan News.

Our location, we are based in a beautiful old building near Tamworth Castle

1a Silver Street
Tamworth
Staffordshire
B79 7NH

Telephone : 01827 54411

customercare@zeidan.co.uk

Open Hours
9.00 - 5.30 Monday - Friday
9.00 - 1.00 Saturday
5.00 - 5.30 Friday Only (Staff Training)
PASD Club - by Appointment Only