Hannah Lechtenberg, CPOA, displays the latest Oakley sunglasses, popular with kids and adults alike.
For Shelley Hayes, it was not hard to figure out that her daughter had challenges with vision. From a young age, she showed the telltale signs of poor eyesight—squinting while focusing, holding things closely while reading, having trouble concentrating and completing tasks, etc. Shelley had her daughter’s eyes examined and was not surprised to find that her child needed glasses.
However when it came to Shelley’s son, the diagnosis was not so easy. He showed none of the signs her daughter had exhibited and seemed to have normal vision. But some of his friends were wearing glasses and he thought they were “cool,” so he asked his mother if he could get a pair when his sister did. While Shelley had him at the optometrist, she had his vision tested and was shocked to find that the young man actually needed glasses as badly as his sister did.
“I thought he just wanted glasses to be like his friends,” she recalls. “He showed none of the obvious indicators of poor vision.”
That’s why, as the office manager of Dr. Hart’s Primary Eye Care in Collinsville, Shelley encourages parents to have their children’s eyes routinely examined.
“If a person is born with bad vision, they may have no idea until they have an examination,” she says. “It is like watching regular television for years and then having high-definition put in front of you and realizing how much better the picture is.”
She notes that most children with vision problems have simply learned to accommodate the problem and that each child, like her own children, will present it in different ways. Some behavior issues can even be traced to vision, as a child who cannot see will not pay attention and may become bored and get into mischief to alleviate boredom.
“It is important to start the school year off right and have their eyes examined now,” Shelley advises. “Don’t wait until they are already having problems in class.”
Even if a child starts out with good vision, regular exams are still important because new problems can arise so gradually that they go without notice. This is especially true in the last decade as visually based technology has exploded.
“Kids are using computers, tablets, cell phones, and all kinds of electronic devices which place a specific strain on the eye,” Shelley notes. “We have all kinds of technology to help with this, like blue light filtering technology and UV protectant for lenses.”
She adds that even if a child doesn’t need a correction, he or she needs protection from these modern day strains. And as her son showed by wanting a pair of glasses to look “cool,” glasses no longer carry the stigma they once did. A child may wear the glasses simply to alleviate the stress their cell phone or tablet is placing on their eyes—or they may just want to make a fashion statement. This is easy to do at Dr. Hart’s Primary Eye Care, where they display the most popular, attractive and durable styles from major name brands like Converse, Crocs, Candies, Vera Wang and many more. They also display an extensive choice of sunglasses from Oakley’s to Rayban and Wiley X. Shelley also points out that colored contact lenses are popular with all ages and are available at Dr. Hart’s Primary Eye Care, even for those who are not vision impaired.
Dr. Hart’s office encourages parents to implement good vision as a part of their child’s health and quality of life.
“We take our kids to the doctor to get their vaccinations and to the dentist to get their teeth cleaned,” she says. “Aren’t their eyes just as important?” To answer this question with “yes”—and to help your children see their future in high-definition, make an appointment with Dr. Len Hart at Dr. Hart’s Primary Eye Care today. Dr. Hart is an Optometric Physician and a Diplomat for the American Board of Optometry and has been a valued part of the Collinsville business community for decades. Call for an appointment today.
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