SC Wisconsin News

Aspirus Health is highlighting the importance of children’s eye health during National Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month this August. The organization urges families to include vision screenings as part of their children’s routine health care.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 6.8 percent of children under 18 in the United States have a vision condition, while about 3 percent experience blindness or vision impairment.

Regular eye exams can help identify problems early, often before children themselves are aware of any issues. Early detection supports children's success in school, sports, and daily activities. Aspirus Health recommends that children receive their first eye exam between ages four and five.

“If there haven’t been any problems prior to that, the reason why we do that is a child’s neurologic development is still progressing,” said Aspirus Ophthalmologist Dr. Charlie Ahrens.“Especially within the visual system, it gets locked in kind of at six, seven, eight years old, and so if we can identify problems before then, we can have a chance to try to prevent some of these problems. Ideally, I recommend seeing kids at about four or five years old.”

Nearsightedness, farsightedness and lazy eye are among the most common childhood vision issues. These conditions may also impact academic performance. Parents and teachers play an important role in noticing potential symptoms.

“It is sometimes challenging, but sometimes just seeing if the kid is not wanting to perform certain visual tasks that other kids might be doing if they might be struggling in class,” said Dr. Ahrens. “Sometimes that’s a good indicator that there might be something wrong, and a lot of times we’re used as a tool to identify some of those issues.”

Warning signs include difficulty reading, trouble at school, standing unusually close or far from screens or books, or tilting the head when trying to see clearly.

Families interested in learning more about available eye care services for both children and adults can visit https://slhduluth.com/services/eye-care/ or https://aspirus.org/eye-care-surgery for additional information.