Children's Eye Care

When does my child need an eye exam?

The first eye exam should be done between ages 6 months old to 12 months old. If the infant exam was never done, let's get the child in right away for their first exam. Once the infant exam has been done, if there are any concerns, we will recommend a more frequent schedule. Otherwise, the next eye exam should be done at age 3. If the 3 year old evaluation is normal, then the next eye exam should be done at age 6 and then once per year every year thereafter.

Does my child's pediatrician do a comprehensive eye exam?

No, pediatricians do not do comprehensive eye examinations. This needs to be done at an optometrist's office or at a pediatric ophthalmologist's office.

There is a new device called the PediaVision screener, which will allow your pediatrician to perform a visual screening. The PediaVision gives information about eye alignment, refractive error, and eye disease. This instrument is new and very few pediatricians have it. With this instrument, many infant eye conditions would be caught and hopefully this will become the standard of care in the near future. However, an optometrist or pediatric ophthalmologist are better trained to diagnose and treat eye disease.

We are very excited and pleased to announce that we are the first medical/optometric office in Colorado to get the PediaVision screener. For more information about this instrument, visit www.pediavision.com

What are the chances my child has anything wrong with their eyes?

One in 10 children is at risk from undiagnosed vision problems.

One in 30 children will be affected by amblyopia (uncorrectable vision due to not getting glasses or eye alignment surgery at a young enough age).

One in 25 children will develop strabismus (eye-turn).

One in 33 children will have significant refractive error and require glasses.

One in 100 children will have eye disease (glaucoma, etc.).

One in 20,000 children will have retinoblastoma (intra-ocular cancer).

What is the InfantSEE Program?

The American Optometric Association (AOA), along with the Vision Care Institute of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., have partnered to create InfantSEE, a no cost public health program developed to provide professional eye care for infants nationwide. The goal is to detect sight-threatening conditions and visual deficiencies at an early age.

This program provides no-cost access to vision care specialists who have the ability to perform comprehensive eye examinations. This service is free to infants between 6 months to 12 months of age at the offices of participating InfantSEE doctors.

The goal is to detect potential visual problems that, if undetected, could lead to learning difficulty and uncorrectable vision as the child grows.

For more information, visit www.infantsee.org

Dr. Hamilton, Dr. Bollenbacher and Dr. Merryman are proud participants of the InfantSEE Program.

Sun Protection

It is important to protect your child's eyes from the harmful ultra-violet rays from the sun. Children's sunglasses can be found in many places. If you are having trouble locating a retailer, you can visit www.babybanz.com