It's Never Too Early for an Eye Exam

The Illinois Eye Institute Princeton Vision Clinic provides needed eye health and vision care to thousands of underserved Chicago Public School (CPS) students. At the clinic, we serve a pediatric patient population ranging from 2-18 years old, as well as students older than 18 who are enrolled in alternative high schools. As a Vision Promoter, my role within the clinic involves providing initial vision screening and testing for each patient, as well as reaching out to parents of patients who have been referred from the CPS mobile vision clinics for follow-up care.

In October, my fellow Vision Promoter, Maddie Engeler, and I had the opportunity to attend a talk at the Illinois College of Optometry about a program called InfantSEE®. The program aims to integrate eye and vision care into routine infant wellness checks in order to improve quality of life through ocular health. InfantSEE recruits optometrists to provide these comprehensive eye exams at no cost for infants between 6-12 months old. The speaker talked about the importance of early detection in order to correct and treat many common eye problems. However, comprehensive eye exams, which should occur alongside childhood wellness checks, are rarely recommended to children under three. It is often assumed that, before preschool, there is no need for children to have their eyes checked. At that point, though, eye conditions such as amblyopia or retinoblastoma may have progressed irreversibly, instead of being treated to avoid long term issues. Early detection and correction of vision problems can have profound impacts on an infant's quality of life, as this video of a 10-month-old baby getting glasses shows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA0UpPeUAto.

As a Spanish interpreter, I have assisted in many check-ups for children of all ages, but I have never heard a provider recommend that a child younger than four receive a comprehensive eye exam. However, from my few months at the Princeton Vision Clinic, I have learned the importance of early detection in eye and vision care. There is nothing quite like the look on the face of a child who is able to see clearly for the first time. I look forward to continuing to learn about eyes and, as a future physician, I will definitely advocate for all children to visit an optometrist as early as possible.

This blog post was written by NHC Chicago 2016-17 member Josh Finkel.

Josh is a Vision Promoter at the Illinois Eye Institute at CPS Princeton School.