Learning Related Vision Problems

Learning-Related Vision Problems

There’s no question that good vision is important for learning. Experts say more than 80% of what your child is taught in school is presented to them visually.
To make sure your child has the visual skills they need for school, the first step is to make sure your child has 20/20 eyesight and that any nearsightedness, farsightedness and/or astigmatism is fully corrected with glasses or contact lenses. But there are other, less obvious learning-related vision problems you should know about as well.
Good Vision Is More Than 20/20 Visual Acuity
Your child can have “20/20” 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 – How smoothly and accurately your child can move their eyes across a printed page in a textbook.
  • Eye focusing abilities – How well your child can change focus from far to near and back again (for copying information from the board, for example).
  • Eye teaming skills – How well your child’s eyes work together as a synchronized team (to converge for proper eye alignment for reading, for example).
  • Binocular vision skills – How well your child’s eyes can blend visual images from both eyes into a single, three-dimensional image.
  • Visual perceptual skills – How well your child can identify and understand what he sees, judge its importance, and associate it with previous visual information stored in his brain.
  • Visual-motor integration – The quality of your child’s eye-hand coordination, which is important not only for sports, but also for legible handwriting and the ability to efficiently copy written information from a book or chalkboard.

Deficiencies in any of these areas can significantly affect your child’s learning ability and school performance.

Many Kids Have Vision Problems That Affect Learning

Many kids have undetected learning related vision problems. In fact, children are often misdiagnosed with learning problems or ADD/ADHD when, in fact, they have a vision problem.
According to the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD), 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

If your child exhibits one or more of these signs or symptoms and is having problems in school, call us to schedule a comprehensive children’s vision exam.
Comprehensive Children’s Vision Exam
A comprehensive children’s vision exam includes tests performed in a routine eye exam, plus additional tests to detect learning-related vision problems. These extra tests may include an assessment of eye focusing, eye teaming, and eye movement abilities (also called accommodation, binocular vision, and ocular motility testing). Also, depending on the type of problems your child is having, we may recommend other testing, either in our office or with a children’s vision and/or vision development specialist.

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 vision skills.

Vision and Learning Disabilities

A child who is struggling in school could have a learning-related vision problem, a learning disability or both. Vision therapy is a treatment for vision problems; it does not correct a learning disability. However, children with learning disabilities may also have vision problems that are contributing to their difficulties in the classroom.

Can You Swim with Contact Lenses?

This summer when it’s hot outside and you have the opportunity to jump into a nice cool pool, it may be tempting to do so without taking out your contact lenses. That process can be a bit of a pain and you may think that it’s no big deal if your contacts get some water on them. However, it is highly recommended that you remove your contacts before going for a dip in the water – this includes pools, hot tubs, lakes, and oceans. There are a variety of reasons for this.

Microbes and Bacteria

Water everywhere contains thousands of viruses and bacteria that can be harmful to your system. One dangerous organism known as Acanthamoeba can cause your cornea to become infected if it comes in contact with your lenses. In severe cases, this can lead to permanent loss of vision or require surgery to fix your cornea, including a potential cornea implant.
This is just one kind of dangerous bacteria that can be made worse by contact lenses. If you don’t wear your contacts, your body generally has a way of flushing these bacteria out. However, as they become attached to your contacts, the bacteria have the opportunity to grow and become more likely to infect you.

Irritation

Water can cause contact lenses to swell or dislodge, causing discomfort in your eyes. It may also wash away your natural tear film which will cause your eyes to feel dry and irritated as they lose their natural lubricating properties. As your eyes become drier, you will find it more and more irritating to put in your contact lenses in the future, especially if they fall out while you are in the pool.

The potential loss of contacts

Due to the dislodging, that takes place in the water, you put yourself at risk of losing your contacts if you swim with them in. This may not be as big of a deal if you wear daily disposable contacts, but it can be expensive and frustrating if you have permanent contacts.

What to do if you accidentally wear contacts in the pool?

If you forget to take your contacts out when you go swimming, it’s important to remove them and clean them as soon as possible. Make sure to disinfect them with your solution and allow them to dry thoroughly before wearing them again. If you wear daily contacts, throw out the pair that was exposed to water and put in a new pair.
You also need to take care of your eyes, so rinse them out with re-wetting drops or artificial tears. This will re-lubricate your eyes and help ensure that you don’t suffer from dryness as the day goes on. If you have any long-lasting issues after swimming, make an appointment with Twenty Twenty Eyecare as soon as possible.
If you must wear your contacts while swimming, be sure to find a pair of airtight, waterproof goggles. These will protect your eyes from chemicals and bacteria in the water and help keep your contacts from falling out or dislodging

Can An Old Prescription Cause Headaches?

Ouch! You’ve got a headache and you don’t know why. Maybe you just gotten new glasses and you’re worried that the prescription is wrong. Or maybe it’s been way too long since you’ve seen the eye doctor and your prescription needs an update. There’s a good chance that your headache could stem from something unrelated to your vision or your eyewear, but let’s explore some possible reasons for that annoying pain around your eyes, forehead, and temples.Image result for headache from glasses

Need a New Prescription

If it has been over a year since your last eye exam, it is definitely worth making sure you are not suffering from some visual impairment that you’re unaware of. How do you know if you need glasses? Only a trained eye doctor can tell you for sure, but – believe it or not – proper vision correction can improve all aspects of life from your levels of concentration to your personal relationships. Being farsighted, in particular, when untreated can cause headaches, so that’s an easy one to remedy with a trip to your eye doctor.

Getting Used to a New Prescription

You know that an outdated prescription is not the headache culprit – because you just got a brand new pair of glasses. Well, your eye doctor may have warned you about this, but sometimes it can take a little time for your eyes to adjust to a new prescription. Blurry vision can occur – even with a correct prescription – as your eyes adjust. But any vision issues should resolve in less than two weeks. If two weeks have passed and you are still experiencing discomfort, please check back in with your eye doctor to make sure there’s not a prescription error. In the first two weeks, you can take a few steps to help get accustomed to your new prescription. First, put your new glasses on first thing in the morning when you wake up. If needed, take short breaks from wearing your new glasses. Finally, use over the counter painkillers to get relief in the meantime.

Computer problems & Reading glasses

Eyestrain comes from the overworking of muscles around the eye that are continually adjusting in order to focus. Repeated attempts to focus occur for different reasons; one is getting used to a new prescription. But eyestrain is also a common problem when wearing reading glasses while using the computer. Remember, reading glasses are for close-up work and the normal distance you sit away from a monitor is much farther away than where you would hold your reading materials. If you find yourself doing this, you may need bifocals. Eyestrain also happens when we spend too much time staring at screens. Screen time exposure can be mitigated with anti-reflective lens options and by taking steps like adjusting the lighting in your work space, and following the 20-20-20 rule. The rule is – look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes.

Frame and Eye Position Adjustments

There are reasons other than an incorrect prescription that could cause a headache from wearing glasses. Your glasses should be personally customized just for you. That’s not just the prescription but also the position of your eyes, the angle and position of the frame, and the distance between your pupils, which should all be accounted for. Having an incorrect frame size or frame adjustment can cause pain behind the ears, where the temples pinch into the sides of your head. If you need a frame adjustment, you can go back to your eye doctor or try simple adjustments yourself.

Not your glasses fault

The most common symptoms of eyestrain are headache and fatigue. For some people eyestrain can even trigger migraines – but this is rare. According to the American Migraine Foundation “most eye pain does not result from an eye problem” unless the eye itself appears red, inflamed or swollen. If there are no external cues of distress in the eye, the headache most likely comes from tension. It’s also important to note that if you are experiencing nausea and vomiting then you’re not suffering from a vision related problem.

Dry Eye Syndrome

Dry eye syndrome (DES or dry eye) is a chronic lack of sufficient lubrication and moisture on the surface of the eye. Its consequences range from minor irritation to the inability to wear contact lenses and an increased risk of corneal inflammation and eye infections.

Signs and Symptoms of Dry Eye

Persistent dryness, scratchiness and a burning sensation on your eyes are common symptoms of dry eye syndrome. These symptoms alone may be enough for your eye doctor to diagnose dry eye syndrome. Sometimes, he or she may want to measure the amount of tears in your eyes. A thin strip of filter paper placed at the edge of the eye, called a Schirmer test, is one way of measuring this.
Some people with dry eyes also experience a “foreign body sensation” – the feeling that something is in the eye. And it may seem odd, but sometimes dry eye syndrome can cause watery eyes, because the excessive dryness works to overstimulate production of the watery component of your eye’s tears.
 

What Causes Dry Eyes?

In dry eye syndrome, the tear glands that moisturize the eye don’t produce enough tears, or the tears have a chemical composition that causes them to evaporate too quickly.
Dry eye syndrome has several causes. It occurs:

  • As a part of the natural aging process, especially among women over age 40.
  • As a side effect of many medications, such as antihistamines, antidepressants, certain blood pressure medicines, Parkinson’s medications and birth control pills.
  • Because you live in a dry, dusty or windy climate with low humidity.

If your home or office has air conditioning or a dry heating system, that too can dry out your eyes. Another cause is insufficient blinking, such as when you’re staring at a computer screen all day.
Dry eyes are also associated with certain systemic diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, rosacea or Sjogren’s Syndrome (a triad of dry eyes, dry mouth, and rheumatoid arthritis or lupus).
Long-term contact lens wear, incomplete closure of the eyelids, eyelid disease and a deficiency of the tear-producing glands are other causes.
Dry eye syndrome is more common in women, possibly due to hormone fluctuations. Recent research suggests that smoking, too, can increase your risk of dry eye syndrome. Dry eye has also been associated with incomplete lid closure following blepharoplasty – a popular cosmetic surgery to eliminate droopy eyelids.

Treatment for Dry Eye

Dry eye syndrome is an ongoing condition that treatments may be unable to cure. But the symptoms of dry eye – including dryness, scratchiness and burning – can usually be successfully managed.
Your eye care practitioner may recommend artificial tears, which are lubricating eye drops that may alleviate the dry, scratchy feeling and foreign body sensation of dry eye. Prescription eye drops for dry eye go one step further: they help increase your tear production. In some cases, your doctor may also prescribe a steroid for more immediate short-term relief.
Another option for dry eye treatment involves a tiny insert filled with a lubricating ingredient. The insert is placed just inside the lower eyelid, where it continuously releases lubrication throughout the day.
If you wear contact lenses, be aware that many artificial tears cannot be used during contact lens wear. You may need to remove your lenses before using the drops. Wait 15 minutes or longer (check the label) before reinserting them. For mild dry eye, contact lens rewetting drops may be sufficient to make your eyes feel better, but the effect is usually only temporary. Switching to another lens brand could also help.
Check the label, but better yet, check with your doctor before buying any over-the-counter eye drops. Your eye doctor will know which formulas are effective and long-lasting and which are not, as well as which eye drops will work with your contact lenses.
To reduce the effects of sun, wind and dust on dry eyes, wear sunglasses when outdoors. Wraparound styles offer the best protection.
Indoors, an air cleaner can filter out dust and other particles from the air, while a humidifier adds moisture to air that’s too dry because of air conditioning or heating.
For more significant cases of dry eye, your eye doctor may recommend punctal plugs. These tiny devices are inserted in ducts in your lids to slow the drainage of tears away from your eyes, thereby keeping your eyes more moist.
If your dry eye is caused by meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), your doctor may recommend warm compresses and suggest an in-office procedure to clear the blocked glands and restore normal function.
Doctors sometimes also recommend special nutritional supplements containing certain essential fatty acids to decrease dry eye symptoms. Drinking more water may also offer some relief.
If medications are the cause of dry eyes, discontinuing the drug generally resolves the problem. But in this case, the benefits of the drug must be weighed against the side effect of dry eyes. Sometimes switching to a different type of medication alleviates the dry eye symptoms while keeping the needed treatment. In any case, never switch or discontinue your medications without consulting with your doctor first.
Treating any underlying eyelid disease, such as blepharitis, helps as well. This may call for antibiotic or steroid drops, plus frequent eyelid scrubs with an antibacterial shampoo.
If you are considering LASIK, be aware that dry eyes may disqualify you for the surgery, at least until your dry eye condition is successfully treated. Dry eyes increase your risk for poor healing after LASIK, so most surgeons will want to treat the dry eyes first, to ensure a good LASIK outcome. This goes for other types of vision correction surgery, as well.

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When Should Your Childs Eyes Have a First Eye Exam?

 
childs eyes You want to get your young children off to a good start in every way — and that includes their eye health. But when is the right time to start having your child’s eyes checked? Babies and toddlers can’t read an eye chart, after all. It’s best to start early.
It’s important not to delay eye exams for young infants and children because some early eye problems can affect vision for life. Finding a problem early can keep a minor issue from becoming something major (and harder to treat).
We emphasize that eye exams aren’t merely a way to know whether your child needs glasses. Like regular exams with a pediatrician, eye exams are about preventive care.

When do children need eye exams?

Dr. Bigheart recommends a comprehensive eye exam by an eye care professional by age 1, to be repeated before kindergarten in children without any evident eye problems.
These exams become much more important in children who:

  • Have a sibling or a parent with a major eye problem, such as crossed or turned eye(s) (strabismus) or lazy eye (amblyopia)
  • Have an eye problem detected by a pediatrician
  • Are suspected by parents of having an eye issue

Even if there are no obvious symptoms, your child may still have a problem with his vision, she says.

Early exams may head off serious problems

Undiagnosed conditions or abnormalities can lead to vision loss. However, it’s possible to reverse some problems if they’re caught early, Dr. Morgan says.
A classic example is a lazy eye. Kids with this condition have one eye that is weaker than the other.
One of the most common vision problems in children, lazy eye typically responds well to treatment. This may include an eye patch, eye drops or eyeglasses.
Another example is crossed eyes, which involves one or both eyes turning inward or outward. This can require special eyewear or an eye patch.
So how do you know there’s a problem or your child needs to see a doctor?
Here are four key tips that will help you make sure your child has the best eye care from the start.

1. Don’t wait for school

If you have questions about your young child’s vision, don’t hesitate to schedule an eye exam.
Most children have their vision tested before they start elementary school. But Dr. Bigheart says it’s ideal to have your childs eyes tested well before they start kindergarten or preschool.
In fact, he recommends an eye exam in the child’s first year of life.

2. Consider your family history

“While it’s ideal for all kids to have their eyes tested, it’s even more important if a child’s brothers or sisters have vision problems,” says Dr. Bigheart.
As with many other health-related conditions, your child is more likely to have vision problems if they run in your family. So it’s best to start monitoring it early on.

3. See an eye specialist

As you know, your pediatrician has specialized training for treating children. By the same token, a pediatric ophthalmologist specializes in detecting and treating your childs eyes problems.
With kid-friendly tools and testing, he or she can pinpoint problems — even if your child hasn’t learned how to talk or doesn’t yet know the alphabet.

4. Go with your gut

Dr. Bigheart says it’s very important for parents to trust their instincts. After all, you know your childs eyes best.
In fact, parents are often the first ones to notice signs of trouble. “If a mom says something is wrong with her child’s eyes or vision and I don’t find anything in the initial exam, I always go back and test again,” she says.
Your doctor may not find a problem at first. But if you still have concerns, keep working to pinpoint the problem. Discuss the signs you’re seeing with your child’s doctor or get a second opinion, if necessary.
Following these tips will help you protect your child’s vision and promote healthy eyesight for life.