Question: What is vision therapy?
Dr. Fuerst: In a nutshell, vision therapy is focusing on the visual skills that are absolutely crucial for learning. This is not measured by how well you see at 20 feet (20/20).
Studies indicate that between 15-18% of kids have a visual processing difficulty which adversely affects their ability to read and learn in school. We look at different processing disorders. First we look at focusing, which should be automatic and easy, but for many kids is not. They will complain of blurred vision, and difficulty maintaining concentration and keeping things in focus after even just 5 and 10 minutes of reading.
In addition to that, binocular vision disorders are treated with vision therapy. Binocular vision is where you have to converge the two eyes together during reading. The eyes need to work together as a team, and there are a number of kids who have a lot of difficulty with this. For example, a child may look at something that is 12 inches away, but their eyes begin to wander out to 14 or 15 inches, and then back into 12 inches. This creates a tremendous amount of stress on the visual system.
These same six muscles in the eye that are involved in binocular vision are the same muscles used for tracking. As a result, one of the most common things that we see is children that have issues with skipping words, skipping lines, losing their place, missing the prefix, and missing the endings of words. Next we look at visual perception to find out how are you processing the information.
Q: I wear contact lenses, what can I do to prevent dry eye during my flight?
A: Wearing contact lenses in general can increase the occurrence of dry eyes. Thus, the likelihood of dry eyes during plane travel with contact lenses is almost unavoidable. For those who wear contact lenses, please consider wearing a pair of glasses amid the flight to greatly decrease this risk. If you cannot, then we recommend you close the air vent above your seat, wear a sleep mask if you sleep during your flight, keep a bottle of artificial tears handy at all times, and make sure to drink a lot of water before, and during your flight to keep you body hydrated.
Q: What are my treatment options for Dry Eye?
A: There are many treatments which will make dry eye manageable and life comfortable again. Some treatments are performed in our office, as well as prescription medications and over-the-counter options such as artificial tears. Artificial tears to help with a portion of the symptoms. These artificial tears are moisturizing eye drops that may help with the dry, scratchy feeling in the eyes. Some artificial tears replace parts of the tear that your eyes are not creating by itself, others simply deliver more tears to the eye.
Research has additionally proven that good nutrition can effectively elevate some, if not all side effects of dry eyes. Your eye specialist may prescribe nourishing supplements, for example, omega-3’s. Great sources of omega-3’s are cold-water fish, cod, herring and salmon, and also flaxseed oil. Slight dehydration can exacerbate dry eye symptoms as well, so make certain to drink a lot of water. We will help you to pick which treatments will be best for you.
Q: What are the symptoms of Dry Eye?
A: Common symptoms of dry eyes include a stinging or burning feeling in the eyes, scratchiness, and unreasonable aggravation from smoke or wind. Despite the fact that it might sound illogical, the eyes’ reaction to the steady aggravation brought about by dry eyes may likewise bring about one to encounter extreme tearing. For this situation, the eye is endeavoring to flush and oil itself by delivering more tears, yet can’t do as such effectively because of the rate of evaporation or powerlessness to spread the tears legitimately.
Q: Can What I Drink Affect Dry Eye?
A: Dehydration can aggravate dry eye. Make certain to have a drink close by all the time, making a point to drink regularly. Mixed refreshments and caffeine containing beverages, for example, tea, cola’s and coffee can increase hydration. Therefore, try to avoid them, and if you must drink them, make sure to drink additional clear liquids to make up for the fluid loss.
Q: What does it mean to be color blind?
A: There are many treatments which will make dry eye manageable and life comfortable again. Some treatments are performed in our office, as well as prescription medications and over-the-counter options such as artificial tears. Artificial tears to help with a portion of the symptoms. These artificial tears are moisturizing eye drops that may help with the dry, scratchy feeling in the eyes. Some artificial tears replace parts of the tear that your eyes are not creating by itself, others simply deliver more tears to the eye.Research has additionally proven that good nutrition can effectively elevate some, if not all side effects of dry eyes. Your eye specialist may prescribe nourishing supplements, for example, omega-3’s. Great sources of omega-3’s are cold-water fish, cod, herring and salmon, and also flaxseed oil. Slight dehydration can exacerbate dry eye symptoms as well, so make certain to drink a lot of water. We will help you to pick which treatments will be best for you.
Q: When should children have their eyes examined?
A: The American Optometric Association (AOA) issued guidelines for how often children should go to an eye doctor for a comprehensive eye exam. According to these recommendations, infants should have their first ocular evaluation at 6 months of age. Routine eye exams should then follow at 3 years old and at 5-6 years old (prior to entering kindergarten or first grade). If they do not need vision correction, school-aged kids should have a complete eye assessment done every two years. Children who wear eyeglasses or contacts should have yearly examinations.
Q: If my 5-year-old daughter passed a vision screening at school, does she still need an eye exam?
A: Yes, she should still have a complete eye exam.
Vision screenings in school are designed to identify gross vision problems. Yet a child can pass this screening and still have an eye condition that affects development, learning and performance in school. Studies have shown that up to 11 percent of kids who pass a school vision test actually have a vision difficulty that requires treatment.
In addition, a comprehensive eye evaluation by a qualified professional checks your child’s eye health, which is not included as a part of vision screening done in school.
Q: What is vision therapy?
A: Vision therapy or training can be understood as a specialized form of physical therapy for the ocular system. Highly personalized, it involves a customized set of eye exercises that are intended to correct visual problems. Lazy-eye (amblyopia), focusing problems, trouble with eye alignment and movement, and specific visual-perceptual disorders are some of the conditions that may be treated with vision therapy.
Therapy sessions are generally held in an optometrist’s office, but most courses of treatment include daily exercises to be done at home.
Q: Can learning disabilities be cured by vision therapy?
A: No. Yet children with learning problems often suffer from vision problems too. As the vision therapy corrects underlying ocular conditions, a child’s learning difficulty may be improved or resolved.
