Keeping your kid’s eyes healthy

 

 

Did you know that human eyes are about the size of ping pong balls? That’s relatively small for something with such a huge job. From the second you open your eyes in the morning until you close them at night, your eyes are processing a plethora of information about the world around you.

Sponsored by the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at PreventBlindness.org, August is Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month.

As you might imagine, our sense of sight is vital to our safety and wellbeing. That being said, for as much as they do to protect us it is important to do everything we can to protect our eyes. Here are some tips to remember and share with your families about keeping our eyes safe:

· Wear sunglasses and/or a hat anytime of the year, especially on bright days
· Wear protective goggles especially when playing high intensity sports, gardening, or anytime dirt or loose particles might fly into your eyes
· Adjust for proper lighting especially when looking at small print (reading, writing, on the Internet, etc.)

· Share warning signs with an adult right away if:

o Your eyes hurt, sting, or twitch
o Your eyes feel sore, tired, or hot
o You can’t see clearly
o You need to hold things up close to see them
o You get headaches from too much reading, writing, or screen time
o You can’t tell the difference in certain colors

· With excessive screen time, give your eyes a break every twenty minutes or so. Our eyes need exercise just like our bodies. For a quick eye-exercise try looking away from the screen and slowly blinking several times. Then with your eyes closed try rotating between slowly rolling your eyes clockwise then counter clockwise, looking left then right, and looking up then down. Open your eyes and look at something far away focusing on it for a few seconds, then look at something close up.

· Have your eyes checked once a year
· Follow your doctor’s instructions for properly wearing corrective glasses or contact lenses
· Never wear other people’s glasses or contact lenses
· Never look directly into bright lights, especially the sun
· Never throw sand, dirt, or anything with small particles
· Never run with anything sharp or pointy
· Never spray anything without warning those around you

The combination of information processed by all of our senses allows us to experience the world around us. Our eyes in particular give us the power to view the beauty spread throughout our world. What a mighty job for something only ¼ ounce in weight and less than 1 inch in diameter.

Nikole E. Tome, MPH, CHES is an assistant director of education services/program evaluation at the Byrnes Health Education Center. She is a graduate of West Chester University with a Master’s Degree in Public Health. She has also obtained her Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) credentials from the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing.