Prevent Blindness and the American Ophthalmologist Association have jointly named August as Children’s Eye Health and Safety Awareness Month. As you prepare your children for a successful new school year, be sure to schedule a comprehensive eye exam and take this opportunity to teach them about eye safety.

Source: hjalmeida via iStock

Thousands of children suffer eye injuries each year and 90 percent of these injuries are preventable if protective eye wear is worn when needed. To get the most of children’s eye safety month, review the following helpful guidelines and be sure to speak to your children about them:

• – Always ensure there is proper eye safety protection for activities
• – Be sure the protective eye wear is designed specifically to the activity being performed
• – Corrective lenses are not a substitute for safety eye wear
• – Only provide toys that are age-appropriate
• – Avoid toys with sharp or pointed components
• – Teach children that projectiles can cause serious eye injury and perhaps blindness

It is estimated that roughly 80 percent of education is delivered visually, which means if your children’s eyesight is not at its best, they may struggle unnecessarily. A comprehensive eye exam including optomap® provides your child’s eye care provider a detailed view of up to 200 degrees of the retina in a single, quick and pain-free scan to give your child their best chance at early detection of eye disease. The earlier a diagnosis is made, the better the possible outcome.

While many vision problems may not be noticeable, the following signs and symptoms should receive immediate attention by your child’s eye care provider to curb vision loss:

• – A lazy or wandering eye
• – Eyes that appear to cross
• – Persistent rubbing, squinting or constant turning of the head when trying to focus
• – Headaches

Optos wishes you and your children a happy and successful school year. We hope you take advantage of children’s eye safety month to learn more about preserving vision and don’t forget to schedule an optomap exam to ensure early detection of possible eye disease.