Frequent Questions
Who are the professionals who will evaluate my child?
The Division of Pediatric Ophthalmology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has a comprehensive group of eye care providers to help serve all of your child's eye care needs. Our team of eight eye doctors includes both optometrists and pediatric ophthalmologists.
Pediatric ophthalmologists are physicians that specialize in the medical and surgical care of children's eye disorders and in the care of adults with misaligned eyes. After college, they attend four years of medical school, followed by an internship year and three years of ophthalmology residency training in the medical and surgical eye care of patients of all ages. Following residency, a pediatric ophthalmologist spends a year in fellowship training, learning to specialize in the medical and surgical care of children's eye disorders.
Optometrists are non-physician eye doctors. Our pediatric optometrists attended four years of optometry school after four years of college. All of the optometrists at Cincinnati Children's have had an additional year of optometric residency during which they gained training in the areas of primary care, ocular disease, or pediatrics and binocular vision.
Our team also includes an AACO certified orthoptist who works closely with our ophthalmologists and optometrists in the management of ocular motility disorders and amblyopia. She is joined by a team of JCAHPO (Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology) certified ophthalmic technicians, and a skilled nursing staff that assist the doctors in your child's eye care.
Your child may be evaluated by any or all of the above eye care providers, depending on a number of factors, including the age of the child, the severity of the condition, the potential need for surgery and your child's associated medical conditions. Our team approach allows us to efficiently serve the eye care needs of your child, while continuing to provide the most comprehensive pediatric vision care services in the Tri-state area.
What should I expect when I bring my child in for an examination?
The eye doctor will need to know about your child's general health. Be sure to tell the doctor or the assistants about your child's medical problems, surgical procedures, allergies or medications that your child may be taking. If your child has been previously treated with glasses or contact lenses, these should be brought to the eye examination. The names and addresses of all physicians who may be treating your child should also be supplied to the eye doctor so that they may be informed of the findings.
You will stay with your child through the entire examination. Infants and small children can be checked while sitting on a parent's lap. Older children are encouraged to sit in the exam chair by themselves.
Your eye doctor will carefully observe each eye as your child follows lights or toys. This gives a very good estimate of a child's visual function. Children who talk but do not yet know their letters or numbers may be asked to identify pictures of common objects.
Cooperative and verbal older children will have their vision tested utilizing a computerized eye chart.
Older children should be told that they may be given eyedrops that might sting a little and make their vision blurry for a while. The eyedrops are used to dilate the pupils. This allows a better view of the structures inside the eye, such as the retina, optic nerve, and blood vessels. The drops may be given one or more times and take about 30 to 45 minutes to become fully effective.
These same eyedrops also cause a temporary weakness of the focusing muscles of the eyes. This allows the eye doctor to determine if your child has a focusing or refractive error that requires glasses. Refractive errors include nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness(hyperopia) or distorted vision (astigmatism). Trial lenses in temporary frames will be used to correct the refractive error so that a "corrected" vision can be determined.
The doctor will also use an ophthalmoscope, an instrument that shines a bright light into the eye, to look at the inner structures of the eye. At the back of the eye is the retina, which functions like film in a camera, processing the visual information into signals that are sent through theoptic nerve to the brain.
Lights may also be used to determine if your child's eyes are straight or turned. The reflection of the light from the surface of each eye is observed to help determine if each eye is pointed to the light. The alignment of the eyes can also be checked by covering one eye and thenthe other. If the eyes move back and forth during this procedure, theyare not aligned properly. Prisms can be used to measure the amount of misalignment.
The eye doctor will give you more information and answer any questions that you have after your child has been completely examined.
