Your Trusted Children’s Eye Doctors in Hamilton – Mountain Eye Care
As many of us working at Mountain Eye Care are parents ourselves, we understand that children’s health is a top priority, and when it comes to vision it is extremely important. At our Clinic up on the mountain in Hamilton, we specialize in pediatric eye care and offer a wide variety of services that are designed to help and support your child’s eye health from start to finish. We enjoy watching the children grow into responsible adults, and take pride in ensuring their eyes are checked on a regular basis and always healthy.
Our Pediatric Eye Care in Hamilton
Children’s vision is sometimes overlooked, and although the majority of children may not experience any issues with their eyes, certain problems can start at any age from birth even into their teenage years. Common issues they may experience are:
- Lazy Eye (aka Amblyopia)
- Crossed Eyes (aka Strabismus)
- Astigmatisms
- Farsightedness (aka Hyperopia)
- Nearsightedness (aka myopia)
Through detecting these issues earlier on, we’re able to help prevent any longer term vision problems. The Canadian Association of Optometrists states that up to 80% of a child’s learning is through visual means. This translates to the need of keeping an enhanced care of your child’s eye conditions as they grow and go through life.
What is a Pediatric Eye Exam?
As all doctors can sometimes be uncomfortable for children, Optometrist visits are no different. We understand that the experience for the child can be new and this is why we work very hard to maintain a comfortable and fun environment every time your child comes. It is crucial that every child feels at ease during their visit as we run them through the following tests:
- Acuity Test: This looks at how clearly your child is able to see objects both close and far
- Alignment and Tracking: This test is focused on looking at how both eyes work together and their movement in unison.
- Refractive Error Testing: This test is used to determine if the child will need glasses to address any vision problems (i.e nearsightedness, astigmatism).
- Comprehensive Eye Health: This test assesses the overall health of the child’s eyes which is great for discovering any early signs of certain conditions as amblyopia or strabismus.
These tests will help our Hamilton Pediatric Doctors identify any problems and help your child maintain excellent eye health.
Children’s Eye Exam – When Do They Need It?
Every child is different, and it is best to follow the direction of your pediatric optometrist. Typically, most children receive an eye exam at 6 months, and then return again for another exam at 3 years old with the last checkup before switching to annual checks around age 5 or 6. Following your child being 6, it is recommended that you do annual check-ups to keep your child’s eye health properly supported and monitored. As children’s development is quite rapid through the younger years, it is always good to stay ahead and get checked!
When Your Child Eye Examination in Hamilton Needs to Be Sooner
There are a few things to keep an eye out for with your child’s eye development that may prompt the need for them to be brought in sooner for a checkup. Certain things such as:
- Squinting or needing to adjust their head by tilting to see or read things
- Frequently complaining of headaches or eye strains
- If they’re rubbing their eyes or blinking more than normal
- Having difficulty reading or concentrating while they’re in school
If any of these symptoms become noticeable, we recommend you book them in for an eye exam with one of our doctors as soon as possible.
Why Choose Mountain Eye Care?
Our Pediatric Doctors have been in the business with over a decade of experience dealing with children, teenagers, adults, and seniors. We understand what to look for and how to map out the best solutions for your child. Through our extensive experience, we utilize state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and techniques to test your child in a multitude of ways as we mentioned above.
Through our family-friendly approach, your child can feel comfortable every step of the way, giving you the confidence that they are taking excellent care of their eye health. We are very passionate about safeguarding your child’s eye health and our convenient location makes it easy for locals to attend.
