During the first four months, their visual horizon will expand from a few centimetres to many metres. Their vision will become clearer and colour vision will begin developing. Their two eyes will start working together. By four months of age, an infant’s colour vision is similar to an adult’s, and by the sixth month, your baby will acquire eye movement control and develop eye-hand co-ordination skills.

For the first six months an infant’s eyes can appear crossed or out of alignment, but this is usually normal. However, if your infant’s eyes remain misaligned after six months of age, contact your local doctor of optometry right away. They may have strabismus, or “crossed eyes,” a condition that needs to be treated with eyeglasses, contact lenses, prisms and/or vision therapy and, in extreme cases, surgery.

Another condition that can develop within the first six months of your baby’s life is “lazy eye,” or amblyopia. This condition describes weak vision or vision loss in one eye that may not be fully correctable with lenses alone. It usually develops in children before age eight. It’s important to treat amblyopia early – with vision therapy, eyeglasses and contact lenses, or a patch – as treatment becomes very difficult later on. Untreated, amblyopia can lead to total blindness in the affected eye.

Visual abilities play a big role in early development. Seeing a Doctor of Optometry at this time can prevent potentially vision-threatening disorders.

For more information about children’s eye health, check out our children’s videos.

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The letters PD stand for “pupillary distance” which is a measurement, in millimeters, between the centers of the pupils. This is one of the measurements used to ensure that your eyeglass lenses are properly positioned before your eyes. The position of your lenses and frame can have a dramatic effect on whether your new glasses perform as they should.

When you are focusing on an object, such as reading a book, your eyes converge to maintain alignment to the target. Therefore, your PD changes with the distance you are looking. For this reason, your PD for driving glasses can be different from the PD for your reading glasses. And for those with a lazy eye, the PD can vary significantly with the angle of viewing.

In short, there is no single PD measurement for a pair of glasses, but a trained and licensed optical dispenser knows how to measure and order lenses appropriate for your individual needs.

In addition to the correct PD, additional measurements will be taken including height (to centre of pupil), face form, pantoscopic tilt, vertex distance, etc. Getting glasses without all of these measurements is a bit like ordering a new suit based upon your neck size only. For proper fit and comfort, you need more measurements for your suit, just like you do for your glasses.

During your routine eye exam, whether you are ordering glasses or not, your Doctor of Optometry will take a basic PD measurement to ensure your eyes are aligned through the test equipment. However, this PD is often different from what a dispenser would use for the making of eyewear.

If you request your PD measurement for the purpose of ordering glasses online, your Doctor of Optometry will issue you with the above-mentioned basic measurement. Unless you are ordering glasses from a BC Doctor of Optometry, he or she will only have access to your basic PD taken for your eye exam, and that is what you will receive on your prescription. However, the basic PD may not necessarily be correct for obtaining the appropriate pair of eyeglasses. For this reason, many online eyeglass purchases result in poor fit, headaches, nausea, inaccurate prescription and so on.

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It’s important to know that every eye is different—including your own two eyes. To properly fit contacts, the unique characteristics of your eyes need to be accommodated for with precision. These characteristics include your visual acuity, the diameter and curvature of your eye, the composition of your tear film and any present eye health conditions.

Poor-fitting contact lenses can result in irritation, eye infections, corneal scratches and sometimes even blindness.

When you visit a Doctor of Optometry for a proper contact lens fitting, the following steps will be taken to ensure optimal eye health, comfort and visual clarity:

Step 1: An Eye Exam and Prescription for Vision Correction

• Your BC Doctor of Optometry will evaluate your overall eye health to ensure your eyes are in good health for wearing contacts. If vision correction is required, your Doctor of Optometry will issue a prescription that describes the lens power needed.

Step 2: Measurements

• A keratometer is used to determine the curvature of your eye, which will determine the shape and size of your contact lenses.

Step 3: Corneal Evaluation

• Your BC Doctor of Optometry will evaluate the health of your cornea and the dryness of your eyes to determine the best contact lens composition and solution. This requires a test to evaluate the tear film of your eyes. Allergies and lifestyle choices will also be considered.

Step 4: Trial Contact Lenses

• Your BC Doctor of Optometry will prescribe a trial pair of lenses to be used for a period of time. This will determine whether the chosen contact lenses are the best ones to meet your individual needs and won’t cause any long term damage.

Step 5: Final Eye Health Check Up

• At a follow-up appointment, your BC Doctor of Optometry will determine if your contacts are providing optimal comfort and clarity, while maintaining healthy eyes. If they are, a final prescription will be provided.

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Step 1: An Eye Exam and Prescription for Vision Correction
• During an eye examination, your BC Doctor of Optometry determines the overall health of your eyes, and how well they see. If vision correction is required, your Doctor of optometry issues a prescription that describes the lens power needed.

Step 2: Selection of the Frames
• The frame needs to be adjusted on your face to ensure it fits properly – before the lenses are added. Frame size, eye size, bridge width, temple length, shape, wrap, material and overall fit are all important parts of choosing frames.

Step 3: Additional Measurements
• Once the frame is adjusted, additional measurements are required for proper fit.
• PD – Both the distance and near separations between the pupils (interpupillary distance or PD) need to be measured.
• OC – Accurate measurement of the optical centres (OC) is necessary to avoid eyestrain and pulling.
• Appropriate base curve of your eyes must be determined to control magnification, especially in cases where there is a difference between the curvatures of your eyes.

Step 4: Choosing Lenses
• Determining the most appropriate type and index of lenses, and tints and coatings, needs to take place within the context of your prescription, as well as work and lifestyle demands.

Step 5: Ongoing Adjustments
• When you receive your glasses, a trained optical dispenser will ensure they have been properly manufactured, are within acceptable tolerance, and fit your face correctly to ensure ideal vision.
• Ongoing adjustments are usually necessary over time to keep the frame sitting properly on your face. This will ensure ongoing clear and comfortable vision.

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Children at age two enjoy listening to and telling stories. It helps them develop visualization skills and prepares them for learning to read. At this stage of their development, toddlers also like to paint, draw and colour, sort shapes and sizes, and fit or assemble pieces. These activities are all integral to their visual development.

A preschooler’s eyes are not ready for prolonged or intense concentration at short distances. To make TV viewing easier on the eyes, the room should be softly lit, the set placed so as to avoid glare, and the child should sit further away than five times the screen’s width, taking periodic breaks from staring at the screen.

Be alert for symptoms that may indicate your child has a visual problem:

* red, itchy or watering eyes
* sensitivity to light
* an eye that consistently turns
* squinting, rubbing the eyes, or excessive blinking
* a lack of concentration
* covering or closing one eye
* irritability or short attention span
* holding objects too close
* avoiding books and television
* visible frustration or grimacing

Protect your child’s vision: consult a BC Doctor of Optometry today.

Your preschooler may enjoy playing a-b-See games with you on the computer. These interactive games are bright, colourful and fun, and teach children about the importance of eye health. Play a-b-See games now.

For more information about children’s eye health, check out our videos section.