Hello! My name is Christa. I am an employee at Jensen Eye Care, but I am also a patient along with my daughter, Aryanna. I would like to talk with you about infant eye care—its importance, and how a parent may feel taking their infant to the eye doctor.
Aryanna was about seven months when I first took her in to see Dr. Seth. I did this because I was informed by him that it was a good idea to take infants in to see the eye doctor as early as six months. I came to the appointment without any suspicion of an eye issue. I just wanted to make sure her eyes were developing correctly and that everything was OK—much like how I would take her in to see the pediatrician for a regular check-up.
Dr. Seth checked Aryanna’s eyes and found that she was extremely far-sighted.
OK, what does that mean?
It simply means that Aryanna can see things far off into the distance, but has a hard time seeing things up close. What she can see is always blurry.
Why is this a concern?
This is concerning because an infant will use the eye that they can see the best out of and won’t use the other eye as much.
What happens if this isn’t caught early?
If this isn’t caught, the child could develop what we commonly call a “lazy eye”.
Dr. Seth then told me that Aryanna needed glasses.
I cried! I wanted my child to be perfect and thought that there was something wrong because this curve ball was thrown at me.
After leaving the exam room, I went through the process of picking out glasses that would look good on Aryanna thinking, “This isn’t right!”
One of our wonderful opticians helped Aryanna and I pick her glasses. She answered all of my questions (and, boy, did I have a lot of them). Because Aryanna is so far-sighted, the lenses were going to be pretty thick. I wanted to know what Aryanna’s eyes were going to look like in her glasses because I was worried she might look bad, and didn’t want that.
While waiting for Aryanna’s glasses to come in, I paid close attention to everything she did. I paid attention to her movements, how she grabbed things, how she rolled and moved, and how she looked at things. I came to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong with her and thought, “Maybe Dr. Seth made a mistake.” I talked to my parents, and they told me that it is easy to make yourself think there is nothing wrong. At work, I was reassured by my colleagues that there isn’t anything “wrong”—people wear glasses.
I just really didn’t want my daughter to have to wear glasses!
I went through all sorts of emotions and thoughts. I felt bad for thinking Dr. Seth was wrong. I knew he wasn’t wrong. He knows what he is doing. He does this every day! I began to replay the conversations I had had with Dr. Seth and my colleagues, and I realized something. Had I not brought Aryanna in to get her eyes checked, she would have developed a lazy eye. Then, there really would be a problem.
I worked through my thoughts and fears by asking questions—with the patience and understanding of my daughter’s doctor and people that really care about their patients!
Aryanna’s glasses came in. Once they were put on her face, all of my fears and concerns disappeared. She could see! Watching her look around as if she were seeing things for the first time was amazing! It was also a little heart-breaking to have the knowledge that she couldn’t see things clearly before.
From one parent to another: please don’t be selfish when it comes to your child(ren)‘s eye health! Don’t put off taking your child in for an eye exam because you think something may be wrong with them if they wear glasses, because there really is nothing wrong with wearing glasses!
Do you wear glasses? How about your parents?
I wear glasses to see at a distance, and my parents wear glasses. Now, my daughter wears them, too! I know the hesitant thoughts and feelings you may be feeling, but I guarantee that if you wait, a problem really could develop.
All of us at Jensen Eye Care are here to help you—as friends. We will answer all of your questions to make sure that you complete understand everything. I can honestly say that I will not take my daughter to anyone else besides Dr. Clark and Dr. Seth.
PS: Aryanna looks adorable in her glasses, and she is complimented everywhere we go!
If you have any questions or concerns about your infant (or any of your children), please give us a call! We are here for you.
