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Written By: John Fuda
2006-05-02 02:00:00
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF NURSE-MIDWIVES ENDORSES AMERICAN OPTOMETRIC ASSOCIATION INFANTSEE™ PROGRAM
Contact: Susan Thomas
American Optometric Association
(314) 983-4263
SLThomas@aoa.org
WASHINGTON, DC (May 2, 2006) – The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), the oldest women's health care organization in the U.S., announced its endorsement today of InfantSEE™, a public health program of the American Optometric Association aimed at the earliest possible diagnosis of a potential eye and vision problems in children through a no-cost assessment by an 
optometrist. The InfantSEE™ program, launched last June in partnership with The Vision Care Institute of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., involves the voluntary efforts and donated expertise of more than 7,000 participating Doctors of Optometry in all 50 states. Under this program President Jimmy Carter is the Honorary Chairman of InfantSEE™ and is serving as the national spokesman.
“The mission of ACNM is to promote the health and well-being of women and infants within their families and communities,” said Lisa Summers, CNM, DrPH, Director of Professional Services for ACNM. “As primary care providers with a focus on health promotion, disease prevention, and health education, midwives can be particularly effective supporters of the InfantSEE™ program. The program provides families with a complement to the well-baby care each child deserves,” added Dr. Summers. “Optometry is proud to be working closely with the American College of Nurse-Midwives to ensure that no child will be plagued by a preventable eye or vision problem,” said Dori Carlson, O.D. and member of the American Optometric Association’s Board of Trustees. “ACNM’s support of InfantSEE™ will educate more parents about the importance of early eye care for children.”
Congressional leaders have welcomed InfantSEE™ as a valuable public health program.
“InfantSEE™ is about informing and helping parents to take steps to safeguard a child’s vision. I commend the American Optometric Association and the American College of Nurse-Midwives for their cooperative efforts to improve the health and well being of all Americans, particularly our youngest and most vulnerable children,” said Rep. John Boozman, O.D. (R-AR), a Doctor of Optometry serving in Congress. “I particularly want to thank the thousands of optometrists and nurse midwives who have committed to working together to achieve the objectives of the InfantSEE™ initiative and do all they can to bring much-needed eye and vision care services to communities where they are needed.”
Although infants cannot respond verbally, the first year of life is an ideal time to conduct an extensive eye assessment. Not only is this a critical time for eye and vision development, but generally children at this age do not yet fear doctor visits and find the assessment painless and often enjoyable. As part of the national launch, former President Carter, who serves as honorary national chair and spokesman for InfantSEE™, issued a call-to-action through public service announcements (PSA), which educate parents about InfantSEE™ and urge them to take advantage of the program. The PSAs cite his personal experience regarding his grandchildren’s eye problems. His granddaughter was diagnosed and treated as a toddler for Amblyopia, often referred to as Lazy eye, a leading cause of vision loss in people younger than 45, which will affect one in 30 children. His grandson’s amblyopia was not identified until grade school and may never be fully corrected.
To learn more about InfantSEE™, call toll-free (888) 396-EYES (3937) or visit www.InfantSEE.org.
About the American Optometric Association
American Optometric Association doctors of optometry are highly qualified, trained doctors, on the frontline of eye health and vision care, who examine, diagnose, treat and manage diseases and disorders of the eye. In addition to providing eye and vision care, optometrists play a major role in an individual's overall health and well being by detecting systemic diseases. Doctors of optometry have the skills and training to provide more than two-thirds of all primary eye care in the United States. The American Optometric Association represents more than 34,000 doctors of optometry, optometry students and paraoptometric assistants and technicians in nearly 6,500 communities across the country. For more information, visit www.aoa.org.
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Written By: John Fuda
2007-06-04 02:24:03
glasses? How do I know whether my child needs glasses? Can a parent always tell by observing the child whether glasses are needed? If glasses are needed, do the glasses improve the eye condition or will glasses be needed permanently? Do glasses make farsightedness (hyperopia), nearsightedness (myopia) or astigmatism "go away" or not. If my child needs glasses, should they be worn during all waking hours or only for distance vision or only for reading? Should the glasses be worn for television? And by the way, is it harmful for children to sit close to the TV, or "on top" of the TV as some parents maintain their children wish to sit?These are all good questions. What are the answers?
First, some kids need glasses as early as four months of age. Which kids? Kids whose eyes are crossed at age four months may need eye muscle surgery but some children are extremely farsighted and glasses may straighten the eyes if prescribed promptly. There are children who need glasses for farsightedness at four months of age and have complete restoration of
binocular vision. Glasses for children who have crossed eyes and are very farsighted should wear glasses during all waking hours.Some children may have one eye that is in focus and one that is out of focus, that is, has excessive farsighted (hyperopic), nearsighted (myopic) or astigmatism. These children will seem to have normal vision judging by their behavior (it turns out that the vision demands of a toddler are not really that great-one can toddle around even with subnormal vision). But an infant or toddler that seems to see normally may have one eye that is very much out of focus. The brain will soon establish more connections with the better seeing eye and fewer connections with the eye that is out of focus. Vision will be further lost in the eye already out of focus. The out of focus eye may remain perfectly aligned with the normally seeing eye, so a physician (not an eye doctor) who looks at the eye will not notice any abnormality despite the fact that one eye has very poor vision.
This condition in which the brain connections are greater to one eye is called
Amblyopia. This is a common condition affecting one of out of every 40-50 children. In the past, this condition was often not detected until the child had the vision in each eye checked by covering each eye and reading letters or recognizing pictures at age 5 or 6 years of age. By then it was often too late to treat the amblyopia. Parents often feel very guilty they missed a condition in which one eye is legally blind and now the child is too old to treat.Amblyopia can be detected earlier in one of two ways. First, your child will usually be verbal enough to talk to a stranger (one who is kind and friendly, like your local pediatric
ophthalmologist or your pediatrician or family physician) by age three years. At that age the vision in each eye can be assessed using a picture chart. There are even home vision tests for assessing vision at age three years. It is VERY IMPORTANT that your child does not peek. He or she will try to please you by reading the chart with the bad eye, and the kid with one bad eye is the one who will peek. Many kids with amblyopia have escaped early detection when the kid did what he was asked to do: he read the chart, but he "peeked" using his or her good eye and the amblyopia was not detected and treated at an early age.Second, amblyopia can be detected by a technique known as photorefraction. A picture is taken of each eye in the office of the pediatrician or family physician. By observing the camera reflex from the eye, a skilled technician or physician can detect that one or both eyes is out of focus and suggest a more complete examination by a pediatric ophthalmologist who can tell you whether your child needs glasses.
Third, you could opt for a complete
Eye Exam for your child. When would be the best time for this initial eye exam? If you have a family history of an eye disease that begins at a young age, such as cataracts that develop in childhood or retinoblastoma (the most common malignant eye tumor in children), your child needs an eye exam in the first two months of life. If there is a family history of amblyopia (" Lazy eye") or eye muscle problems, it would be best to have an eye exam between ages 6 and 12 months of age. If your child appears to see normally and the eyes line up and work together, the best time for a complete eye exam would be between ages three and four years. It may seem like a large expense if your child has normal vision and normal eyes; but remember, by age three or four years most parents will have already had their child's teeth checked. These are teeth that will come out and be replaced by normal ones. Teeth can be replaced with fully functional ones made of synthetic polymers. Once vision is lost to amblyopia. sight can usually only be regained during a critical period in childhood. That period may be only 2-4 years of life. The first two to four years, which are the most important years in visual development. Considering that the life expectancy of a child born today is probably about 90 years, an early eye exam or at least a screening test at a young age is an excellent investment.Some children are extremely nearsighted (myopic) at a young age. By age two or three years, these kids will be really sitting up close to the TV as well as holding objects us close to their face. These kids usually take readily to glasses and wear them quite well.
Some other kids have larger amounts of astigmatism (eye is not shaped completely round like a basketball but is shaped more oval like a football). Kids with large amounts of astigmatism will often wear glasses well at age 1-3 years. Many other kids have only small amounts of astigmatism and do not require glasses at all. Sometimes the astigmatism" goes away" by itself, other times glasses are needed at an older age for reading and schoolwork. If the astigmatism is very large or present in a larger amount in only one eye, glasses may be needed during all waking hours.
Glasses do not make astigmatism "go away." Glasses do not change the shape of the eye. The eye undergoes natural slight changes in shape with age and astigmatism may increase or decrease in amount depending on the growth of the eye.
The most common form of nearsightedness (myopia: vision is better at near than distance) does not begin until about age 5-7 years of age, sometimes later. In general, the earlier the nearsightedness begins, the more nearsighted the child will ultimately become. Usually the nearsightness increases in amount every year as the child grows. The greatest changes occur between age six and twelve, but many children continue to become more nearsighted even as teenagers. There have been many, many forms of treatment to attempt to prevent myopia or nearsightedness from developing or progressing (for example, eye drops that keep the eyes dilated,
bifocals or hard contact lenses). But the only therapy that has been proven effective is refractive surgery, such as LASIK (laser-in-Situ-Keratomileusis) and radial keratotomy in which multiple small incisions are made in the front clear part of the eye called the cornea. In general, this surgery is not done until the eye has finished its growth or age 18-21 years of age. A few children have undergone these procedures but most kids' nearsightedness is best treated with glasses or contact lenses.Wearing glasses does not make your child become less nearsighted. In fact, the opposite may well be true: wearing glasses for nearsightedness may increase the nearsightedness by causing the eye to focus more at near than a child would without the glasses. This extra focusing at near MAY contribute to an increase in nearsightedness in some children.
If your child is only slightly nearsighted, it may well be best simply to avoid glasses and obtain another eye exam in six to twelve months. If your child needs glasses for small amounts of nearsightedness and can still see clearly at near, it is best for your child to remove the glasses for reading other near work. If your child is significantly nearsighted and needs glasses simply to get around well, it is probably best to wear the glasses almost all the time.
Who is the best person to check your kid's eyes? An ophthalmologist or
optometrist is skilled at checking the focusing of the eyes. But the visual needs of children are far different from adults. Children may need glasses for all waking hours to treat amblyopia. Other children whose eyes are only slightly out of focus may be best served by not wearing glasses at all. Glasses for kids can be very expensive: a two year old may easily need new glasses every two to three months at $150 or more for each pair. So a parent should be very careful who makes the decision regarding their kids' vision.The person with the most experience in making a decision regarding your child's need for glasses is a professional that sees only children and specializes in children's eye problems. This person is a pediatric ophthalmologist: this professional sees many children every day and studies only eye problems in kids: he is the best person to see for this important decision regarding your child's vision.
Richards and Hinrichsen, Pediatric Eye Specialists
http://eyeseerichards.com/faqs/EyeglassesInChildren.html
http://eyeseerichards.com/
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Written By: John Fuda
2005-06-08 02:00:00
FORMER PRESIDENT CARTER AND AMERICAN OPTOMETRIC ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCE InfantSEE PROGRAM TO PROVIDE NO-COST INFANT EYE ASSESSMENTS
Survey Shows Mothers Unaware of Need for Early Evaluation of Infant Eye Health
NEW YORK (June 8, 2005)?InfantSEE, a no-cost public health program developed to provide professional eye care for infants nationwide, was launched today by the American Optometric Association (AOA), in partnership with The Vision Care Institute of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. Under this program, supported by former President Jimmy Carter, who serves as honorary national chair and spokesman, participating optometrists will provide a one-time, comprehensive eye assessment to infants in their first year of life, offering early detection of potential eye and vision problems at no cost regardless of income.
Public health experts agree that visual development is most dramatic between 6 and 12 months of age and that early detection can prevent and help reduce the threat of serious vision impairments. In fact, one in every 10 children is at risk from undiagnosed eye and vision problems. However, a survey fielded by BabyCenter.com, on behalf of the AOA, reveals that nearly half of new and expectant mothers mistakenly believe that because a baby's eyes are changing and their vision is developing in their first year of life, it is best to wait until the child is older to get them screened by an eye care professional.
Further, while 97 percent of mothers said they do everything they can to ensure their children’s health, only 13 percent of mothers with children younger than 2 years of age said they had taken their babies to see an eye and vision care professional for a regular check-up or well-care visit. This discrepancy suggests a lack of understanding about the importance of early intervention. If left untreated, eye and vision problems can impact learning and may lead to permanent vision impairment.
"As parents, we regularly take our children to the dentist to help prevent cavities. Likewise, we should take our babies to the optometrist to help prevent potential eye and vision problems," said former President Carter. "Given my family's experience managing vision problems that were not caught early, I strongly encourage all parents with babies to visit an optometrist for an InfantSEE assessment during the first year of their child's life and I applaud AOA for providing parents this opportunity."
The BabyCenter.com survey also showed that the large majority of mothers feel confident that their pediatricians have the time and resources to identify potential eye and vision problems. Actually, a typical well-child visit to the pediatrician, including care and services performed by all personnel, lasts an average of 22.1 minutes, 1 which is effective for detecting only readily identifiable eye problems. Significant risk factors to eye and vision disorders, however, are typically not detectable by base-level infant eye screenings, and even early retinoblastoma (the seventh most common pediatric cancer) is detected more than 80 percent of the time by a family member or friend, as opposed to a health care professional. "Optometrists, through their clinical education, training and experience, have the means to provide the most effective primary eye and vision services to children, as a complement to routine well-care exams given by pediatricians," said Scott Jens, O.D., F.A.A.O. and InfantSEE chairman. "The AOA and InfantSEE volunteer optometrists look forward to working with pediatricians to offer expanded eye care to infants nationwide."
Although infants cannot respond verbally, the first year of life is an ideal time to conduct an extensive eye assessment. Not only is this a critical time for eye and vision development, but generally children at this age do not yet fear doctor visits and find the assessment painless and often enjoyable. Typically, infants sit on their parent's lap during the assessment, in which the optometrist uses lights and other hand held objects to check that their eyes are working together and that there are no significant refractive issues that will impede proper vision development. The optometrist may also use drops or a spray
to dilate the baby's pupils to ensure the health of the eye.
As part of the national launch, former President Carter will issue a call-to-action through a public service announcement (PSA), which will educate parents about InfantSEE and urge them to take advantage of the program. The PSA cites his personal experience regarding his grandchildren's eye problems. His granddaughter was diagnosed and treated as a toddler for Amblyopia, often referred to as Lazy eye, a leading cause of vision loss in people younger than 45, which will affect one in 30 children. His grandson's amblyopia was not identified until grade school and may never be fully corrected.
To learn more about InfantSEE, call toll-free (888) 396-EYES (3937) or visit www.infantsee.org.
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Read More About Former Pres Carter And AOA Announce InfantSEE Program To Provide No-Cost Infant Eye Assessment...
Written By: John Fuda
2007-06-04 09:25:14
optic nerve) is formed.At birth a baby’s eye is about 75 percent of the size of an adult eye. During the first two years of life, the optic nerve, visual function and internal eye structures continue to develop.
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Written By: John Fuda
2005-11-10 07:07:43
By Glen Steele, optometrist, from: http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/expert/preschooler/phealth/pvision/70165.html
How can I tell whether my child needs glasses?
Answer: You can look for a couple of signs. Does your child move up close to see things? Does he have an eye that turns in toward his nose or out toward his ear? If so, he may need glasses. (Occasionally these are signs of a problem that requires Vision Therapy or corrective surgery.) Also, a child who needs glasses may not respond to visual stimuli in normal ways. For example, he may not look up when someone enters a room, or he may fail to focus on the pages of a book while you're reading to him. When children do need glasses, they're more likely to be farsighted than nearsighted, but vision problems are rare at this age. If your child rubs his eyes a lot, it's more likely to be because of allergies than a vision problem. If you're concerned about your child's vision, make an appointment with an optometrist. Some private practices are particularly geared to working with children. Also, optometry clinics at colleges of optometry have doctors who specialize in children's vision.
Glen Steele O.D., is a clinical professor and chief of the pediatric and vision therapy service at the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee. In his private practice he primarily treats infants and young children. He is a past president of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development and the current president of the Optometric Extension Program Foundation, as well as a member of the pediatric and binocular vision committee of the American Optometric Association. Dr. Steele was selected as Tennessee's Optometrist of the Year in 1999 and was selected one of Optometric Management's Top Ten Optometrists of the Decade in 1999. He is the chair of Operation Bright Start in Tennessee, a program to emphasize the need for eye and vision care in infants.
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