Dr. Kar and associates at Bayview Optometry, offer examinations for everyone, at every age, including children and infants. Eye exams are an important part of your overall health care, not just in managing or diagnosing vision problems.

Pediatric eye exams are important for early development. Infants should have their first exam around six months of age. By this time, they should be able to focus and see colours. 

Detecting abnormalities early is crutial for identify any vision problems early so it doesn’t hinder a child's development later. 

Things you can look for at home

• excessive eye rubbing
• eye crossing
• frequent blinking
• not tracking moving objects well
• not holding eye contact

Premature babies are more likely to have vision problems, so it is even more important that they be seen at this age.

What happens at their first optometry appointment

Dr Kar will first check the baby’s pupils’ response to light. Then he will test whether the baby can fixate on an object and follow it as it moves. He will then check the strength of their eyes by making sure they see within the normal range for their age. Finally, he will look inside the eyes to make sure that all the structures in the eye have developed as they should.

If any problems are found, a plan of treatment can be discussed, which may include corrective lenses. Yes, babies can wear glasses! If there aren’t any problems, children should be followed yearly for their annual eye examinations, which are covered by OHIP until the age of 19.

Our vision is necessary and care should be taken to preserve the health of our eyes. But what happens if your eyes suddenly go blurry? Does it mean that you need new glasses? Is it an emergency?

Here are a few reasons this can happen:

• Eye Fatigue: Although we are using our eyes all the time, they often don’t get variety of exercise, and can get stuck on one range of vision. After a day staring at a screen or glued to the printed word, we may find that our long sight has blurred.
• No Natural Light: Some of us get little access to natural daylight for long periods of time. The eyes have to adjust to cope with neon or artificial light.
• Stress: Stress is something that we recognize as having a detrimental effect on many aspects of our health, but it can also hurt our vision. The tiny muscles that work the eye can suffer from tension and this will affect the ability of the eye to adjust speedily to longer-range objects, giving us the impression that our long sight is worsening.
• Nutrition: A lack of nutrients such as vitamins C and E can reduce the protection offered to the eye and make problems such as cataracts more likely.
• Irritants: Being exposed to irritants will provoke the eye into watering, in the same way that the nasal passages will produce mucus. It is designed to wash pollutants out of the eye, and is necessary for their protection.

What can you do about blurred vision?

• Relax! Take some time out from staring at screens, books, magazines, the TV, and go for an energizing walk, looking up at the sky or out to the horizon. Exercise your long sight with this exercise; your eye muscles will benefit from exercise just like any other muscle in your body:
• Exercise your eyes. Take a pencil, or use your finger, and hold it approx.15 cm (six inches) from your nose. Focus on your pencil (or finger) and take a deep breath and exhale slowly. Then focus on an object about 3 m (10 feet) away. Take another deep breath and slowly exhale. You can repeat back and forth 10-15 times daily. You can also do this simple exercise several times a day to ease the eye muscle tension. 
• Eat better. There are many nutrient rich foods that can help boost your eyesight over a long period of time. Foods to eat to keep your eyes healthy
• Get an eye exam. If you haven't had an eye exam in the last 2 years and your vision suddenly goes blurry, it's best to rule out additional health issues. Please give us a call at (905) 751-0169 to book your appointment.