Eye Care: Glasses

Reasons to Wear Glasses

Children wear glasses for many reasons. The reason your child needs to wear glasses is checked below:

• Myopia (my-OH-pee-ah) or near-sighted
  Your child can clearly see objects that are close but needs glasses to clearly see objects that are far away. A child will not outgrow being near-sighted. They will need to wear glasses long-term. The glasses may need to be strengthened every year until the child reaches adulthood as the amount of nearsightedness increases.
• Hyperopia (hi-per-OH-pee-ah) or far-sighted
  Children can clearly see objects far away and up close when they are far-sighted. Children use their internal focus muscles to see up close without glasses. This muscle naturally gets weaker with age. This is why older people need reading glasses or bifocals.
• Accommodative Esotropia (ah-COM-mo-day-tiv-EE-so-TRO-pee-ah)
  Your child has moderate or severe hyperopia, which can cause their eyes to cross when they focus. Wearing glasses will control the crossed eyes and sharpen vision. It is normal to see some eye crossing when they do not wear glasses.
• Astigmatism (ah-STIG-mah-tiz-um)
  Astigmatism is when the eye’s surface has an irregular curvature instead of being perfectly round. This causes blurred vision. Glasses will make the blurred image become clear. This is a common problem. The amount of astigmatism can change as a child grows.
• Anisometropia (ah-NI-soh-meh-TRO-pee-ah)
  Your child has anisometropia, which means their two eyes have two different focus powers and cannot work well together without glasses. This may cause poor vision in one eye. Each lens in their glasses will be different. The glasses will correct the problem.

When to Wear Glasses

• Your child should wear their glasses all the time, except while sleeping and bathing, unless told otherwise by their health care provider.
• If your child plays sports, they should wear a sport strap or sports goggles for added protection. You can buy these where you have their glasses made or you can apply to obtain a free pair of prescription goggles through Superspecs. Superspecs is an Ohio program that offers protective eye gear to children. Visit https://superspecs.org for more information.

Other Information

• As your child grows, the shape of their eyes will change. This may cause them to need a different strength of lens in their glasses. Children who wear glasses need an eye exam each year.

If you have any questions, ask your child’s health care provider or call (614) 722-4076.

Eye Care: Glasses (PDF), Spanish (PDF), Somali (PDF)

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