Things you should look out for
If you, your child or anyone close to you displays any of the following signs it could be indicative of a vision problem:
- Rubs eyes frequently
- Attempts to brush away blur (children)
- Has dizziness, headaches or nausea following close proximity work
- Is inattentive during lessons done on chalkboard, wall chart or map (children)
- When looking at distant objects:
- Holds body tense
- Contorts face in attempts to see distant things clearly
- Thrusts head forward
- Squints eyes excessively
- When reading:
- Blinks excessively
- Holds book too far from face
- Holds book too close to face
- Makes frequent changes in distance when book is held
- Stops after brief period
- Shuts or covers one eye
- Tilts head to one side
- Tends to reverse words or syllables
- Tends to look cross-eyed
- Tends to lose place on page
- Confuses words or letters
- Complains that eyes hurt or feel “dusty” (children)
- Prefers to view distant objects rather than those close-by
- Frequent appearance of sties, a bloodshot condition, eye watering or redness of the tissues around the eye
- Unusual tendency to hold or move a hand in front of the eyes
- Abnormal sensitivity to light or unusual difficulty adapting to very low levels of light
When any of the above symptoms or indicators are noted, a professional eye care specialist should be consulted for a thorough eye examination and test.