Do Your Children Need Glasses? One in Four School Kids Experience Vision Problems, According to the Minnesota Optometric Association.

Health/Medical Reporters/Editors

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 5, 2003

It's almost time for back-to-school preparations and that also means vaccination updates, physicals and visits to the dentist. What about glasses? At least a quarter of school-aged children experience vision problems, according the Minnesota Optometric Association (MOA). Yet when adults make regular appointments for their eye exams, they often don't make one for their children. If parents need glasses, there's a good chance their children will, too.

The reasons that parents don't make regular eye exam appointments for their kids is because they depend on school vision screenings, they don't know their child is having a vision problem, or they don't realize that insurance that covers their eye exams also usually covers their children's exams.

Although school or pediatric vision screening can detect basic vision acuity problems using a sight chart, this does not take the place of a comprehensive eye exam by a family eye doctor. Because of budget cuts, some school districts are eliminating eye screenings or not offering them yearly at all.

"Vision and eye problems need to be detected and treated as early as possible to prevent vision loss as well as learning impairment in both schoolwork and play," said Dr. Chad Christianson, MOA president. "Don't rely on your kids to tell you they can't see; they don't have a comparison, and vision can change gradually."

According to national statistics, only a third of all children have had a comprehensive examination prior to entering school, but guidelines from the American Optometric Association and other national organizations recommend the first exam by age three, then age five and every two years thereafter unless indicated sooner. Lazy eye, or amblyopia, affects two to three out of every 100 people. Its effects are preventable but it remains the leading cause of blindness of all people between the ages of 20 and 70. Strabismus is a visual defect, sometimes referred to as "crossed eyes" that do not correct over time. About four percent of all American children are affected.

Vision problems can snowball, affecting learning and general health. About 80 percent of all learning for children up to age 12 is accomplished through sight. A vision development problem can show in difficulty completing assignments, frequent headaches and even dizziness.

Lots of choices for kids' glasses

There are many more colorful, cool choices for kids' glasses frames these days, says Dr. Linda Chous, Glasses Menagerie in Minneapolis, which specializes in children's eye care. "When we opened Glasses Menagerie in 1991, it was easy for us to buy frames," she said, "because there weren't many to choose from. And there is a certain age when kids really want glasses, from eight, nine or ten years old, about fourth grade. This is the age when they are usually first diagnosed with nearsightedness."

Of course, this acceptance of glasses can change, especially with girls. "It usually has to do with feeling attractive to the opposite sex," Said Dr. Chous. "Girls aged 12 and 13 may prefer contacts. This is rarely a problem, because many of the new contacts, like the disposables, are so easy to use."

Although kids need protective sunglasses as much as their parents do, adults may hesitate to buy them prescription sunglasses because kids might lose them, says Dr. Chous. She suggests the new, stylish clip-ons or changeable prescription lenses in polycarbonate, for lower cost. As for nonprescription sunglasses, there are polarized styles for every taste and budget.

About the MOA:

The Minnesota Optometric Association has 525 member doctors of optometry around the state. The MOA is committed to furthering awareness of optometrists as primary eye care or family eye doctors and to bringing about change that positively impacts the MOA member doctors and their patients.

For more information, or to set up an interview, please call Jenni Dow at [phone], Joan Knight at [phone] or Jim Meffert-Nelson, executive director of the Minnesota Optometric Association, at [phone] or [phone]