Fuzzy, Was He? You May Need Glasses

One day you plop down in your usual spot in class--the back row--and notice something funny. When you look at the blackboard everything is blurry. Or maybe you’re watching TV with your family. Gee, Buffy looks like one of the vampires. You move closer to the TV and see that she’s just fine when your nose is a foot or so from the screen.

What’s going on? Has your teacher forgotten how to write clearly? Is your television broken? Doubtful. Maybe you need glasses.

Before you say, “Duh,” we should point out that you can’t always tell if your eyes aren’t doing their job.

“There are many kids who aren’t aware that they’re not seeing as clearly as they could,” says Dr. Arthur Rosenbaum, a kids’ eye doctor at UCLA.

The most common vision problem kids have is nearsightedness. This means you can see fine up close, but your eyes cannot focus on things far away.

Rosenbaum says it’s important for all kids to get their eyes checked every year. A basic eye test at school can determine if you need to visit an eye doctor. There are special machines that eye doctors use to figure out if you would see better with glasses. None of the tests hurt, although most kids--and adults, for that matter--don’t like the eye drops doctors use during the exam.

If it turns out you do need glasses, you get to pick out frames. There are lots of styles to choose from, depending on the “look” you want. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a week to have the glasses made. Once you get your glasses, the world will be a lot clearer, even from the back row.

Kids and other readers can reach Emily Dwass by e-mail at emilydwass@yahoo.com.