EyeScreen

Safeguarding your child's windows to the world

Importance of Paediatric Vision Screening

Why should I have my infant / toddler’s eyesight checked?

Singapore is known as the myopia capital of the world. According to the latest Singapore Health Promotion Board (HPB) figures from 2011, about 16% of preschool children are short-sighted, a 7% increase from 2009¹. Frequent use of digital devices, such as smartphones and iPads, in young children may only serve to accelerate this trend.

Other eye problems such as Strabismus (Crossed Eyes), Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) can usually go unnoticed until your child starts schooling. If lazy eye is only detected after the age of 8, it may not be possible to reverse the eye damage² . Early detection of lazy eye is important because treatment tends to be more effective the younger the child is, especially before the age of four³.

Untreated Strabismus and Amblyopia may lead to permanent visual impairment, and could pose as stumbling blocks to jobs that require good vision in both eyes, such as a pilot and certain doctor specialties, like ophthalmology. Any undetected and uncorrected vision problems in your child could also result in reading and learning difficulties⁴.

3 reasons to get your child’s vision screened

Early detection

The purpose of paediatric vision screening is to allow for the early detection of vision problems in children as young as 6 months old. Common paediatric vision problems include conditions such as strabismus, amblyopia, myopia, astigmatism, hyperopia and other lesser known conditions including cataracts, and ptosis.

Early intervention

The earlier an eye problem is detected, the earlier the appropriate treatment could be recommended for your child to prevent permanent visual impairment. In the event of a positive detection, intervention, including prescription for glasses, patch therapy, medication or even surgery may be prescribed by the ophthalmologist to restore your child’s vision.

Timely vision screening

The American Optometric Association (AOA) recommends a child to have his/her first vision screening between the age of 6 and 12 months even if no eye problem is apparent⁵.

The American Academy of Paediatrics (AAOP) recommends timely vision screening in infancy and childhood for early detection and treatment⁶.

What do we screen for?

Strabismus (Crossed eyes / Squints).

Commonly known as crossed eyes, strabismus is the condition when your child’s both eyes do not align in the same direction or move in unison. It is usually caused by weak eye muscle in one eye that appears to wander. Apart from being cosmetically unsightly, the eye may not function well in vision.

Pseudostrabismus

Pseudostrabismus refers to a false appearance of strabismus. Pseudostrabismus does not require treatment and the appearance tends to improve with time.

Amblyopia (Lazy eye)

Known as lazy eye, amblyopia is the condition when one of your child’s eyes has not been developing normally, resulting in poor vision. It can also occurs when there is uncorrected refractive error and resulted in unbalanced vision on both eyes.

Myopia

Known as short-sightedness, myopia is the condition when your child cannot clearly see objects that are far away. This condition may be inherited or associated with premature birth and can occur at any age due to environmental factors.

Hyperopia

Known as far-sightedness, hyperopia is a vision condition in which either or both distance and near vision are affected. Far-sightedness occurs if your eyeball is too short or lens muscles in the eyes are weak, so light entering your eye is not focused correctly.

Astigmatism

Astigmatism is an optical defect in which vision is blurred due to the inability of the optics of the eye to focus a sharp image on the retina. Hence, the shape of the eye is more similar to a rugby ball than a baseball which causes light rays to focus at different meridians on the retina. The prevalence of astigmatism is usually the highest in infancy and childhood.

Anisocoria

Anisocoria is characterized by an unequal size of the eyes' pupils. The presence of anisocoria can be normal (physiologic), or it can be a sign of an underlying condition.

Ptosis

Ptosis is the condition with drooping eyelids. The low riding superior lid can cause your child’s vision to be partially or completely obstructed by this condition.

Epiblepharon

Epiblepharon is a developmental eyelid anomaly characterized by an extra fold of skin and this redirects the lashes into a vertical position. This eyelash inversion contacts the globe and causes ocular surface irritation.

Childhood cataracts

Childhood cataract or congenital cataract is the condition where there is lens opacities in the eye that can obstruct light from entering. This can cause your child’s vision to be blur or misty as there are cloudy patches in their vision.

Color deficiency

More commonly known as colour blindness, is the inability to distinguish the differences between certain colours. This condition is due to the absence of colour-sensitive pigment in the cone cells of the retina. Most colour vision problems are hereditary and are present at birth. Approximately 1 out of 12 men and 1 out of 200 women⁵ have some degree of colour deficiency.

Stereopsis

Stereopsis refers to the perception of depth. The differences between the two images from both eyes as perceived by the brain are integrated into a single one and hence, creating the 3D effect.

References

1) Aoa.org. Accessed on 11 June 2015. http://www.aoa.org/patients-and-public/eye-and-vision-problems/glossary-of-eye-and-vision-conditions/hyperopia
2) Aapos.org. Accessed on 11 June 2015. http://www.aapos.org/client_data/files/2014/337_visionscreeningforinfantsandchildren_2013.pdf
3) Aapos.org. Accessed on 11 June 2015. http://www.aapos.org/terms/conditions/91
4) Allaboutvision.com. Accessed on 11 June 2015. http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/colordeficiency.htm
5) Colour Blind awarenesss. Accessed on 11 June 2015 http://www.colourblindawareness.org/colour-blindness/

How do we screen?

Eyescreen^™ is a speedy, safe and non-invasive screening that does not require any physical contact with your child or eyedrops to dilate the pupils. By following steps 1-2-3-4, Eyescreen^™ is able to detect eye problems and hence, allowing effective treatment to be administered as early as possible.

Step 1
Assess

Your child's vision development will be assessed.

Step 2
Screen

Your child will be photo-screened by our paediatric optometrist.

Step 3
Further tests

Your child will be routed for supplementary testing (optional) if he or she is older.

Step 4
Result

You will receive screening report on the spot after screening.