Be Your Child’s Eyes this JulEYE!
As a parent you need to remember that your child most probably is not going to be able to express exactly what might be going on with their eyes, so you owe it to them to be vigilant about their eye health by noticing any changes.
In time for JulEYE, RANZCO have devised 5 essential tips to help you monitor your child’s eye health:
1. Be Eye Aware: Know your family eye history and remember that early detection and treatment is the best defence against eye disease. Symptoms to watch out for include rubbing of eyes; poor hand-eye co-ordination; lack of concentration and complaining of headaches, blurred or double vision;
2. Green is Good: Provide your child with a balanced, nutritious diet rich in fruit and vegetables. Dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach and yellow vegetables such as pumpkin and carrot will help to keep your child’s eyes healthy;
3. Hats Help: Make sure that your child always wears a broad-brimmed hat when playing outside as this will reduce the amount of UV reaching your child’s eyes by up to half;
4. Specs Appeal: When in the sun, make sure your child wears sunglasses with UV coating to protect their eyes from damaging UV rays;
5. Balls Galore: Always wear appropriate protective equipment and ensure safe playing rules when playing sports that include high velocity ball action. Example sports include tennis, soccer, basketball, squash and hockey.
If you notice any changes in your child’s eye health, you should immediately make an appointment to get their eyes tested. An eye test can detect the main causes of vision loss such as Glaucoma, Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Retinopathy and Cataracts. The earlier you find out about possible problems with your child’s eye health, the better the possibility of treating it to stop or reverse progression.