Is Your Child Struggling to Read? Let's Talk About a Possible Eye Problem

Reading is a learning curve, starting with recognizing pictures and responding to stories in preschool to being able to read familiar stories and sound out simple unfamiliar words in first grade. If, during reading development they’re having troubles, it could be because of vision issues that need attention.

If you think your child has vision problems affecting their ability to read, the medical team at Bronx Eye Associates in the Pelham Gardens area of the Bronx, New York, are here to help you find out what’s wrong and offer treatment.

Signs and causes of eye problems in kids

There are a number of signs your child is dealing with vision problems. Some may be harder to detect than others, including:

• Spots on the whites of their eyes: these can come in different sizes and colors, and may indicates things like an eye freckle, a broken blood vessel, or anemia

• Dilated pupils: this can happen for several reasons, like exposure to bright light and ADHD or sweat blocking medications 

• Seeing spots or floaters: these are specks of black or gray, or appear as strings or cobwebs, and while often harmless may indicate a retinal tear with other symptoms

• Discomfort: itchiness, tearing, or burning sensations are often indicative of allergic reactions but if there is also redness and sticky discharge it may also mean pink eye

• Crust forming on eyes: crusty or goopy eye discharges can happen due to inflamed oil glands (blepharitis) or a blocked tear duct 

• Misaligned eyes: when both eyes are not facing the same direction, it hinders vision and often happens because of crossed eyes, or strabismus

• Blinking or rubbing: this can also happen because of allergies, but it may also means your child may have refractive eye problems like myopia, or nearsightedness

• Covering eyes or tilting head: doing either of these things can mean problems like astigmatism, lazy eye (amblyopia), or farsightedness (hyperopia)

If your child is having any of these troubling symptoms, consult our team to get answers so they can improve their vision and reading skills. 

Treatment options

We offer a range of solutions for eye problems, including nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, tear duct blockages, amblyopia, strabismus, pink eye, floaters, allergies, and a range of other conditions. 

To monitor eye development over time, it’s important to get your child to an optometrist as early as six months to make sure there aren’t any conditions affecting them over time. 

Reading is vital for children, and if your child is struggling we’re here to help. Make an appointment with the team at Bronx Eye Associates today to get the help they need.