Health Centre News 

August is recognized as Children's Eye Health and Safety Month, a time to raise awareness about the importance of protecting children's vision. This initiative highlights the need for regular eye exams, understanding potential risks, and implementing preventative measures to safeguard children's sight.

Key aspects of Children's Eye Health and Safety Month:

•    Early Detection: 

Regular eye exams, especially during key developmental stages, are crucial for identifying and addressing potential vision problems early on.  

•    Risk Factors:  

Understanding what can put children's eyes at risk is essential. This includes factors like prolonged screen time, poor hygiene leading to infections, and lack of protective eyewear during sports or hazardous activities. 

•    Protective Measures:

Parents and caregivers can take proactive steps to protect children's vision, such as encouraging healthy diets and exercise, promoting the 20/20/20 rule for screen time, emphasizing handwashing, and ensuring children wear appropriate eye protection during sports or when handling potentially harmful substances. 

•    Impact on Education and Self-Esteem:

Undiagnosed vision problems can significantly affect a child's ability to learn and their overall self-esteem, according to Optometry Australia. 

•    Family History:

Knowing the family's eye health history can help identify potential predispositions to certain eye conditions.

Without early detection and treatment, uncorrected vision disorders can impair healthy development, interfere with learning, and even lead to permanent vision loss. However, vision screening and regular eye care can help detect and treat potentially irreversible vision impairment. Visual functioning is a strong predictor of academic performance in school-age children.

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