What Is Nearsightedness, Farsightedness, and Astigmatism?
Parents often ask me, “What does it mean if my child is nearsighted, farsighted, or has astigmatism?” These are common types of vision problems called refractive errors. They happen when the shape of the eye affects how clearly your child sees.
Nearsightedness (Myopia): This means your child can see things up close, but things far away look blurry. This usually happens when the eye is longer than normal.
Farsightedness (Hyperopia): This means things up close and even far away can be blurry. This usually happens when the eye is shorter than normal.
Astigmatism: This happens when the eye isn’t perfectly round, more like the shape of a football. It can make vision blurry at all distances.
Many schools and pediatricians check children's vision using a photo screening test. This quick and easy test helps find vision problems early. If these issues aren’t found and treated early, they can lead to amblyopia, also called “lazy vision,” which can cause permanent vision loss.
How Do We Treat These Problems?
Glasses: Most children with these conditions need to wear glasses all day (except when sleeping, swimming, or bathing). Glasses help the eyes focus better, but they don’t change the shape of the eye.
Patching: If only one eye has a problem, we may also use a patch over the stronger eye. This helps the weaker eye get better at seeing.
Luminopia:
FDA-approved in October 2021 for children aged 4–7 years, and later expanded in April 2025 to include children up to age 12.
With Luminopia, your child wears a special VR headset to watch a preselected TV show or movie for one hour a day, six days a week.
The shows are modified by the software to encourage both eyes to work together. This helps improve vision in the weaker eye in a fun, engaging way.
Luminopia is meant to be used in addition to full-time glasses.
Even after your child’s vision improves, they will still need to wear glasses to keep their vision clear. Children with amblyopia, or who are at risk, need regular eye check-ups to make sure their vision stays healthy.
If you ever have questions about your child’s vision or treatment, I’m always here to help.
