Back to School. You've got their uniform ready and had their feet measured for new school shoes, but have you had your child's eyes tested? Even if your child is not showing any signs of struggling with their eyesight, it is always a good idea to book them in for a comprehensive eye test, to ensure their vision is not affecting their schoolwork. Children may not even realise they are having issues with their vision until they come in for a sight test, as their visual systems are young and healthy, and able to compensate for some elements of poor vision.
Regular appointments with your optician are as important for your child's health and development as visiting the dentist or GP. Any issues with children’s vision are much easier to treat at a young age, while the visual system is still developing. In a Kelly Eyecare sight test, we will be testing for common eye conditions such as short sightedness (myopia), long sightedness (hypermetropia), squints, astigmatism, amblyopia (lazy eyes) and much more. We have child-friendly eye tests, including picture matching (rather than the letter chart), and all of our optometrists are highly skilled in testing children. Up until a child's 19th birthday*, sight tests are also fully covered under the NHS, and each branch has a range of glasses that could be fully NHS funded as well. With digital devices being such a paramount feature in everyday life, myopia is on the rise in children. There has been research conducted into supporting children's visual development, and the following technology is now available at Kelly Eyecare:
STELLESTâ„¢ Lenses
If you notice your child struggles to see the TV screen clearly, or their teacher has mentioned that they have issues seeing a whiteboard in class, it could be an indication that they suffer from short-sightedness (myopia).
Short-sightedness is a very common eye condition and can be caused by genetics, environment and lifestyle. If a child’s parents have myopia, their child is seven times more likely to develop
myopia as well.
The good news is that treatment for myopia is possible for children. We recommend Essilor's STELLESTâ„¢ Lenses, which slow down myopia progression in children by 67% on average.
An eye test will be able to determine if your child has myopia. Book a comprehensive eye test for your child with one of our experts.
MiSight Myopia Control Contact Lenses
Kids lead active, jam-packed lives. But whether they’re learning new things at school, playing pretend or riding bikes with their friends, myopia can make it harder for them to engage in the activities they love.
MiSight® 1 day contact lenses correct short-sightedness so children can enjoy clear, spectacle-free vision.
100% of parents when asked said their children were happy with the experience of wearing contact lenses, including comfort, vision, ease of use and freedom from spectacles.
If you child is showing signs of myopia, book a contact lens consultation with one of our experts.
Eyezenâ„¢ Start for Teens
Digital screens, varying gaze directions, harmful blue light—there’s a lot our teenagers’ eyes have to contend with.
Essilor’s Eyezen™ Start is an enhanced single vision lens designed to offer sharp, comfortable vision with embedded harmful blue light protection, as well as breakthrough technology to help reduce vision fatigue.
For the first time in a single vision lens, Eyezen™ Start uses two optimisation points to deliver two different aspheric surfaces for far and near vision. This means you don’t have to strain your eyes to see close objects like smartphones, or when focusing on distant objects through the periphery of the lens.
Book an appointment at your local branch to discuss Essilor’s Eyezen™ Start lenses.