Here you can learn about the various stages of eye development and health from birth until full adulthood.
Preschool Age:
2 to 5 Years
During this time children are building on the skills gained in infancy to develop new ones. Common play activities for this age group such as doing puzzles, drawing, stacking blocks and pushing or rolling toys are beneficial in the development of crucial visual skills such as visually guided eye-hand-body coordination and improvement of visual perception. Such activities should always be encouraged.
An uncorrected vision problem at this age may result in difficulty recognizing letters, shapes, colors and numbers. Conditions that contribute to these issues can be missed during routine vision screenings since they often only address a few areas of vision whereas a comprehensive examination by an eye care professional looks at all areas to detect potential deficits.
This is also often an age where problems with amblyopia can become more apparent. Amblyopia is commonly known as “lazy eye” and means the inability to see clearly out of one eye that cannot be corrected with glasses. It has a strong association with strabismus or “eye turn” but can develop without noticeable signs. It is crucial that amblyopia is caught and treated early. The best prognosis occurs when it is discovered before age six.
School Age Children:
6 to 18 Years
It is estimated that as much as 80% of a child’s learning occurs through the eyes so good vision and visual skills are critical to success with learning. As children progress through the grades, their workload increases. In turn the demand they place on their focusing system and other visual systems increase. A deficit in one of these systems may greatly contribute to a learning delay. An example of such a deficit would be an accommodative disorder meaning an inability to properly focus the eyes. Even if a child with an accommodative disorder had the utmost desire to focus on a math or reading book for an extended time, he or she would not be physically able to do so because the eyes would fatigue so quickly. Their complaint of their eyes hurting or becoming tired quickly may be misinterpreted as an attempt to not do the work. Such cases have been incorrectly diagnosed as attention deficit disorder or ADD. What complicates this further is a side effect of some of these medications is reduction of the eye’s ability to focus. For this reason any child with this diagnosis should have a comprehensive eye examination with complete testing of their binocular vision and accommodative systems as we perform in our practice.
Adult Vision:
19 to 40 Years
During this time frame it is fortunate that most of us enjoy good vision and healthy eyes. As with almost all areas of health care, the most important thing you can do is focus on prevention. Taking good care of your eyes along with the rest of your body will give you your best shot in reducing the chance of developing a sight threatening condition in the future.
- First, good nutrition is key in prevention. Foods rich in antioxidants such as berries, fish, nuts, and green leafy vegetables are especially beneficial since antioxidants are vital in keeping the retina healthy. You should also incorporate a daily multivitamin containing vitamins A, C, and E. If you have a family history of eye disease particularly macular degeneration you may also want to incorporate a lutein and zeaxanthin supplement containing at least 10mg lutein and 2mg zeaxanthin. These are carotenoids found in high density in the retina that help fight oxidation and keep cells healthy.
- Secondly avoid smoking. While there is no question smoking is harmful to the body, it can be particularly bad for the eyes. Smoking greatly increases your chance of developing macular degeneration and early cataracts.
- Third, if you are a contact lens wearer, take care of your lenses. Contact lens abuse is one of the leading causes of sight threatening conditions in this age group. It can lead to severe bacterial infections and corneal ulcers. Some of these infections have the ability to perforate the cornea in as little as 48 hours leading to corneal transplantation. As you wear the same pair of lenses past the replacement date, deposits continue to build up on the surface increasing the likelihood of infection even if you are still cleaning the lenses. If you combine this with sleeping in the lens, the risk is greatly elevated. You only have one pair of eyes so this is not an area to try and stretch your lens supply to save money. Replace your lenses as directed. Follow proper cleaning and disinfecting methods and remember to clean or replace your case every three to six months. Have yearly examinations to ensure your lens is still fitting properly, you are seeing well, and your overall eye health is good. Even in non contact lens wearers or those who have had Lasik, periodic examinations are critical in maintain good eye health.
Adult Vision:
41 to 59 Years
One of the biggest changes to occur in this age group is the development of presbyopia. This is the physiological change naturally occurs which causes the eye to lose its ability to focus. It is relatable to a zoom lens on a camera not being able to zoom in and out as easily or quickly as it did previously. This is what causes people whom have enjoyed perfect distance vision to find themselves needing reading glasses, or those whom are nearsighted to have to take their glasses off to read. Although currently there is no perfect solution to this problem, there are many options, which can make this quite manageable from contact lens correction to refractive surgery options. What is not recommended is self-diagnosing with over the counter reading glasses. These should not be used unless given the ok by your doctor. Use of the wrong correction can cause eyestrain and headaches. Also a thorough evaluation is warranted to make the blurry vision is in fact simple presbyopia, and not an underlying eye disease.
This is also a time where early clinical signs of eye disease may be evident. These may occur with no change to the vision from the patient’s perspective. As with any medical condition early detection it always best. For this reason annual eye examinations are vital in maintaining healthy sight.
Dry eye syndrome is also a problem that increases in this time frame, especially with post-menopausal women. This is a usually a chronic condition which left untreated can cause significant discomfort in day to day life. Thankfully there is much research being conducted in this area which is leading to a better understanding of the condition as well as newer treatments being developed. A dry eye consultation allows us the time to understand the cause of each individual’s dry eye and design a treatment plan accordingly. Nutrition can play a significant role in dry eye also. Supplementation with the omega-3 essential fatty acids DHA and EPA can help reduce the inflammation associated with dry eye and may also help with prevention of other retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration. Also they are great for the body as a whole as they help support the cardiovascular, reproductive, immune and nervous systems. A dosage of at least 500 to 1000mg per day is recommended. It is always advised to check with your primary health provider before beginning any fatty acid supplementation as they do have blood-thinning properties.
Adult Vision:
60 and Over
The incidence for eye disease increases as our eye ages making annual eye examinations more important than ever. Certain systemic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension can put a person at a greater risk for vision loss due to retinal disease. In fact diabetic retinopathy is one of the leading causes of blindness in Americans over 35. This is caused by progressive damage to the tiny blood vessels that provide nutrients to the retina. The vessels start to leak and cause bleeding and swelling to the retina, which can lead to blindness. In the early stages of the disease there are often no signs or symptoms.
Perhaps the most common condition to encounter in this age group is cataracts. Cataracts involve clouding of the crystalline lens of the eye and are most commonly associated with aging. Early or accelerated cataract formation is associated with certain medications, especially prolonged steroid use, as well as poor systemic health. Cataract surgery is one of the most common eye surgeries performed today and is almost always done on an outpatient basis. When the surgeon removes the cataract, a clear implant lens in put in place to restore vision. These implant lenses continue to advance in technology. We now have the ability to correct most astigmatism as well as nearsightedness and farsightedness through these implants allowing a number of patients to see clearly in the distance after surgery without glasses. Multifocal and accommodating implants are also being used more frequently to allow the added ability of reading after surgery without glasses.
