Ahh, the summer holidays! What a better time. A guilt-free get away from your normal everyday life – no need to do work, chores, or household responsibilities. Simply enjoy the company of your family and friends. Regardless of how careless this time may seem, it is not. Being careless about your and your loved one’s well-being and health can lead to serious issues. However, our kids ophthalmologist says that staying safe is not as difficult and demanding as it sounds.
In our recent article we gave you the simple habits that you can adopt to your every day in order to keep your children’s eyes safe. Today, we will explain the 2 out of 4 common eye health issues experienced by children during summer.
Eye dryness
Being able to play outside all day long is heavenly for children. When our little ones do eventually abandon play for the day to come home, the cool air is what they need – especially at night to sleep. However, air conditioning (AC) is not the best for our eye health. Fans and AC reduce the humidity and create a relatively windy condition, depending on the setting, which contribute to increased tear evaporation. This means that the eyes have a reduced ability to lubricate the eyeball, which can be particularly dangerous for people with sensitive eyes and dry eye syndrome.
The little ones are particularly susceptible to this, therefore if you notice that your child shows newly developed discomfort, irritation, eye redness, or itching, do not hesitate to contact our expert child eye doctor!
Infection from lenses and water (Acanthamoeba keratitis)
Contact lenses are incredibly popular as they allow the person with a vision impairment to benefit from the correction without having an altered appearance, or worrying about damaging them with physical activity. Your child’s ophthalmologist will ensure that the lenses fit perfectly and that you and your child know how to properly apply them, take care of them and take care of your eyes. Our Livingston kids optical shop has an ophthalmologist on site ready to find the right lenses for your child’s needs.
One disease that is common in people who improperly care for their lenses and come in contact with bodies of water is Acanthamoeba keratitis. It is a rare, but serious infection of the cornea (the transparent outer layer covering the eye), which if untreated, it can lead to permanent visual impairment, or even blindness. The Acanthamoeba amebas are common in bodies of water, soil and air.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explain that for contact lenses users the below practices increase the risk of obtaining the infection:
- Storing and handling lenses improperly
- Disinfecting lenses improperly (using tap water or homemade solutions to clean the lenses)
- Swimming, using a hot tub, or showering while wearing lenses
- Coming into contact with contaminated water
- Having a history of trauma to the cornea
If your child is showing unusual irritation, pain, redness and experiences blurred vision, or sensitivity to light, especially after swimming, you must take them to a specialist children’s eye doctor for a diagnosis. Acanthamoeba keratitis is effectively and easily treated with a couple of medications WHEN diagnosed at an early stage.
Identifying the symptoms early and seeking help at an early stage of the vision problem development can save your child’s vision! Therefore, take note of the symptoms, pay attention to your children’s eye health and do not hesitate to contact our child eye doctor even if you think it is nothing serious – better be safe than sorry. We are here for you! Also, check out our kids optical shop in Livingston to ensure that your child’s glasses and lenses are not causing them harm, and are their perfect fit.
In our next article we will cover 2 other common eye problems to look out for after the holidays, namely infectious conjunctivitis and conditions related to UV exposure.
About our Kids Ophthalmologist in Livingston!
Our exceptional doctors, Amy Lambert, MD, and Rachel Bloom, MD, are both board certified pediatric ophthalmologists. Dr. Lambert, the founder of Pediatric Eye Associates, LLc, is also a board certified strabismus surgeon, and Dr. Bloom is additionally fellowship trained.
Our child eye doctors are experts at meeting your children’s eye and visual needs. We pride ourselves with the results we achieve with our patients and we believe the key is not just our medical expertise, but also attitude and patience with the children. Our motto is “to provide the highest quality eye care for children in a setting that is comfortable and reassuring.”
We understand that you will have many questions about our Livingston ophthalmologist, so if any of them are still unanswered, please refer to our FAQs page, or contact us. You can get in touch with us by:
- Visiting our practice
22 Old Short Hills Rd. Lower Level-1,Livingston, New Jersey 07039
Open hours: Monday – Friday 9:00 – 17:00
- Calling us on 973-422-1230
- Submitting the enquiry form on our contact us page
- Checking our facebook page – Pediatric Eye Associates, LLC
The material contained on this site is for informational purposes only and DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE PROVIDING OF MEDICAL ADVICE, and is not intended to be a substitute for independent professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health.
