Help! My child has glasses

The first thing that a parent needs to do is CALM DOWN.

The fact that a child needs glasses does not mean that his eyes are abnormal. It just means that he is among the 12% of children in the world who need glasses. Your child’s eyes are perfectly formed, his eyes are just shorter or longer than the mean – this normal variation in the length of the eyes requires him to wear glasses.

If your child has a minus (-) no’s, known as myopia, the length of the eye is longer than average. This no. is going to increase with age until she is 18-20 years of age – as her height increases the length of her eye will increase too. This is inevitable. So do not panic every time the no. increases. There is nothing you can do about it. We will prescribe a contact lens when she is old enough and Lasik surgery can free her from glasses when she is about 20. DO NOT take her to quacks who claim method except surgery which can get rid of these glasses – obviously, nothing can shorten the eye or stop the eye from growing. You are just making your child think she is abnormal and decreasing her self-esteem by doing all this.

If your child has a plus (+) no’s, known as hypermetropia, the length of his eyes is shorter than average. This may be associated with squint or amblyopia (Lazy Eye) and you have to get him checked for that. The good news is no. is going to decrease as he grows older. So just get a check-up every year and make sure he wears the right glasses.

If your child has cylinder no. the curvature of the cornea is different in different meridians. This no. is likely main the same as the child grows. However, some minus (-) no. may appear later beside the cylinder. So make sure you go to an eye doctor every year and get the right prescription. Lasik surgery may be possible early for children with a purely cylindrical error which stabilizes early.

Make sure you FILE AND PRESERVE all the glasses prescriptions as it will help us decide better when the no. has stabilized. When choosing THE FRAME it is important it is well centered. Please make sure the optician checks for that.

Get your little one smart glass with his favorite cartoon character on the frame and he has learned a valuable lesson in how to make the best of a small disadvantage that he has in life.

Dr. Jagruti Desai ( M.S. Ophthalmology )

Oculus eye hospital
Tel. 9820094152, 9819983158