Vettori provides a cool spectacle

22 January 2008

Vettori provides a cool spectacle

New Zealand cricketer Daniel Vettori is bringing focus to children’s eyesight, as kids head back to school next month.

Vettori is the face of Visique Optometrists’ ‘Back to School’ promotion, which offers a free pair of sunglasses to all five year-old new entrants. The promotion aims to encourage children to wear sunglasses to protect their eyes from the long-term, damaging effects of UV radiation exposure.

The risks include cataracts and macular degeneration, which are leading causes of blindness later in life, according to Visique optometrist Ian Finch. “Children’s eyes can be more susceptible to damage as generally their pupils are larger and their lenses are clearer, which allows more UV light through.”

Mr Finch says that UV radiation is just as dangerous to eyesight as it is for the skin. That is particularly so in New Zealand, with its high levels of UV radiation.

“We believe wearing sunglasses, in conjunction with a hat, will reduce radiation exposure to the eye to virtually zero.” However, he stresses the importance of standards. Sunglasses should have dark lenses and wrap around the eye to block 99-100% of both UVA and UVB.

Visique and Vettori also have a broader message around children’s eyesight. Daniel started wearing glasses at the age of three after his Mum noticed he had to sit about two centimetres away to be able to watch TV.

It’s unlikely he would have achieved what he has in life if the problem hadn’t been picked up early. “It meant I could see the world,” he says.

Good eyesight is essential to effective learning, Mr Finch says. “80% of a child’s learning comes through their eyesight. Almost every memory is linked to a visualisation. Unless you have proper visual function, your learning is going to be compromised.”

It is recommended that children under 16 have their eyesight checked by an optometrist on an annual basis. The Snellen eye chart, traditionally used in school screening programmes, measures the ability to see objects clearly at a distance. This test detects less than 30 percent of vision problems in children. A child may "pass" this screening test and still have vision disorders that impair learning, such as problems with near-vision and binocular skills, says Mr Finch.

A government subsidy (Enable) is available to qualifying parents to reduce the cost of such examinations.

10 tips on how to see through a child’s eyes:

A child may not complain if they don’t see well; many children simply don’t realise that others can see more clearly. It’s up to parents and teachers to watch closely for signs that may indicate a child has a vision or visual processing problem, says Visique optometrist Ian Finch. These include:
loses their place while reading
- avoids close work
- holds reading material closer than normal
- tends to rub their eyes
- has headaches
- turns or tilts their head to use one eye only
- makes frequent reversals when reading or writing
- uses finger to maintain place when reading
- omits or confuses small words when reading
- consistently performs below potential

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