Back-To-School: Why Eye Exams Are More Important Than Ever

Since the onset of COVID-19, many children have been learning remotely through distance learning programs. While parents are concerned about their children falling behind academically, eye doctors are concerned that undetected vision problems may impact the child's school performance. That's why eye doctors strongly recommend that children undergo a thorough eye exam before the new school year begins.

Why Are Eye Exams Important?

Up to 80% of children's learning is visual, so even the slightest vision problem can have a negative impact on their academic achievement. Taking a child in for an eye exam once a year will allow your eye doctor to detect and correct refractive errors like myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism, and check their visual skills, such as convergence insufficiency, binocular vision, focusing, and more.

Routine eye exams are especially important for children with a family history of eye health problems. School vision screenings are superficial eye evaluations designed to diagnose only a limited number of vision problems — they do not check for visual skills and other problems that may hinder your child's academic success.

How Is Vision Affected By Online Learning?

Spending prolonged periods on digital devices forces the eyes to work harder, making children more susceptible to digital eye strain. Symptoms include blurred vision, dry eyes, eye fatigue, eye pain, headaches, and neck and shoulder pain. Studies have also found that children who spend many hours indoors doing close-up work have a higher rate of myopia progression.

Don't put off your child's annual eye exam. Schedule an appointment with St. Clairsville Eyecare in St. Clairsville today. Call (740) 695-0444.