Claiming that the holiday period is the ideal time to check the eyesight of school-age children, surgeon Dr. Tülay Arıcı from Dünyagöz Ataköy Hospital said: “Childhood is a very important period when vision develops and children become individuals through education. If vision problems that may occur during this period are not diagnosed through routine eye exams and not treated, the child may assume that this vision problem is normal. This situation can have very serious consequences, from academic failure to social and disciplinary problems.”
The eyes play a critical role in the educational process
Maintaining eye and vision health plays a critical role in every child's development. Surgeon Dr. Tülay Arıcı states that activities such as reading, writing, solving problems on the blackboard, and using computers have become an integral part of the modern education system, and adds: “Every family wants their children to do well in school and receive the best possible education, doing their best in this direction. However, in most cases, families neglect or ignore eye health, one of their children's most important teaching tools. As children move from grade to grade and progress in their educational lives, they have to use their eyesight more and more. As they get older, the text size in school textbooks decreases and the time they spend reading increases. For this reason, the importance of the eyes is increasing every year. At this stage, families can make a big contribution to both the educational and social life of children by correcting vision problems through routine examinations.”
These diseases appear most often
Surgeon Dr. Tulay Arıcı shared information about the problems observed in childhood and said: “The most common diseases in school-age children are lazy eye syndrome, strabismus, refractive errors, eyelid diseases, cataracts, cornea problems, glaucoma, trauma-related injuries, and retinal diseases. In particular, refractive errors can directly affect educational performance. If a diagnosis is not made in time in children who complain of myopia, hypermetropia, and astigmatism, the development of a lazy eye is inevitable. In particular, for children who wear glasses, it is very important to periodically check the condition of the eyes and prescribe them the correct glasses or lenses by the increase in diopters.”
Pay attention to the symptoms
Mentioning those vision problems that can occur in school-age children can be easily detected, surgeon Dr. Tülay Arıcı said: “One of the most important responsibilities of families and teachers is to watch for signs of possible vision problems that can be seen in children, and refer them for eye examinations immediately upon detection of these symptoms. Only in this way can they ensure that their children continue to lead healthy lives, both educationally and socially. Symptoms seen in children with eye or vision problems may include strabismus, constant rubbing of the eyes, extreme sensitivity to light, difficulty focusing, difficulty following objects, persistent redness or watery eyes, and cloudy pupils. In addition to these symptoms, school-age children may not see what is written on the blackboard, often squint their eyes, have difficulty reading, forget or not remember the place where they read, sit close to the TV screen, and have behavioral disorders. Parents who notice these symptoms should refer their children to a pediatric ophthalmologist as soon as possible to have their children undergo a thorough eye examination. Dealing with vision problems detected at an early age will be much easier and more problem-free than at an older age.”
