Doctors stress importance of eye screenings, exams as students go back to school

As families prepare for a new school year, doctors at the Cleveland Clinic stress the importance of children getting eye screenings and exams.

The clinic states 80% of learning involves your eyes.

Dr. Allison Babiuch, a pediatric ophthalmologist at Cleveland Clinic’s Cole Eye Institute, appeared on Good Morning Cleveland- Saturday.

“It’s important for their physical development and it’s also important for their ability to learn and grow in their education,” Dr. Babiuch said. “It’s important from a young age, while their brains are still developing, to make sure that each eye has good vision and it’s sending good signals back to the visionary of the brain so it develops properly.”

Catching problems early, so they can be corrected is the goal.

“For young kids, still the most common issues are needing glasses. So if they’re nearsighted, farsighted (or) have a astigmatism. But we are all seeing increased problems with kid’s eyes with all the screen time,” Dr. Babiuch said. “Things as simple as eye strain, dry eye just from staring at screens all day, which we know it’s an important part of life. But, we just really want to try and limit the amount of time kids are on screens and try to get them outside playing more outside, looking far away (and) being in the sunlight.”

She said uncorrected vision problems can be a barrier to learning, and undetected vision disorders can even be misdiagnosed with learning disabilities.

Dr. Babiuch said pediatricians will usually start vision screenings when a child turns three years old. She said some schools offer eye screenings. If a child fails a screening, they’ll be referred to get an eye exam.

Signs of vision trouble will vary. Dr. Babiuch recommends parents watch for behavioral changes and talk to their kids about their eyes. She suggests:

• Talk to your child about their new classroom or where they’re sitting to gauge whether they’re having issues seeing.
• Ask them whether their eyes ever feel tired after watching something on a screen.
• Watch for blinking, squinting and tearing of the eyes.
• Pay attention to headaches or fatigue.

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