Importance of Eye Exams
Regardless of your age or physical health, an annual comprehensive eye exam helps detect vision issues at an early stages, improving treatment options.
Many serious eye conditions do not have obvious symptoms and some eye diseases only show symptoms when the condition is advanced and difficult to treat. Conditions such as amblyopia or a “lazy eye” need to be addressed when a child is young. Comprehensive eye examinations would result in 51% more children receiving successful treatment for amblyopia by age 10.1
The Canadian Association of Optometrists recommend that children should have at least one eye exam before they start school, and annually thereafter, to ensure optimal vision and development.
A comprehensive eye examination includes:
- A review of the child's health and vision history.
- Tests for nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, color perception, lazy eye, crossed-eyes, eye coordination, depth perception and focusing ability.
- Overall assessment of ocular health
1 Eye exams for children: Their Impact and Cost Effectiveness, Abt Associates.
Vision and Learning
Classroom learning is largely visual, so a comprehensive eye examination is essential to provide the full assurance of vision and eye health that a simple eye-chart test or a vision screening cannot.
While vision screening tests the ability to see clearly at a distance, a comprehensive eye exam looks at all aspects of a child’s vision function, including how well the eyes focus up close, how the eyes work together and the overall health of the eyes. 20/20 vision doesn't mean perfect eye health!
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