It isn't easy - or all that effective - to give a toddler a conventional vision test. After all, most little ones aren't verbal enough to tell you what they're seeing... or whether they're having a hard time seeing a particular something. And let's not even get started on their limited attention span. But when it comes to vision conditions such as lazy eye (known as amblyopia in medicalese), which affects 2 to 4 percent of children, the earlier it is detected and treated, the better the outcome. And results from a new study show that early vision screening (called photoscreening because it works by capturing images from both eyes... no verbal answers from the child necessary) can detect and recognize lazy eye as reliably as screenings done later.
The study, published in the online version of the journal Pediatrics, looked at more than 40,000 children ages 1 to 3 who were vision screened and compared them to nearly 170,000 kids older than 4 years of age who were also screened for vision issues. The researchers from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics wanted to see if it's better to test older preschoolers or whether screening in younger toddlers would be equally effective. They found that screening is equally valuable no matter the age of the child, and concluded that since early screening is reliable, there's no reason to wait until a child is a preschooler for that first vision screen.
The study's conclusion is at odds with that of the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force, which says there is insufficient data to recommend screening in children younger than 3 years. But experts are convinced that early detection and treatment is essential (the older the child, the harder lazy eye is to treat), and say this data not only shows that vision screening can detect significant vision issues when children's brains are more receptive and therefore easier to treat, but that it's imperative that pediatricians have a photoscreening system in their offices and routinely screen their young patients.
Want to get your little one tested? Ask the pediatrician about photoscreening during your next well visit.
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