Pediatrics
For our patients under 18, not all testing needs to be performed. But the testing will be dictated by the patient's maturity and ability to perform the tests. If able, at the least, patients should have their entering visual acuities (both corrected and uncorrected) performed, along with the auto-refractor. Check their temperatures as well. Should they be wanting contact lenses, or the autorefractor is eliciting the need, perform the topography as well. Most pediatric patients do well with these objective tests.
For patients that cannot sit for the autorefractor, we have the Plus Optix Hand-Held Autorefractor
Kids respond to certain phrases better than others in regards to positioning on the
machines during pre testing
For the optos machine, instruct kids to find the blue target with either eye they prefer,
once they see the target, tell them to MUSH forward. They almost always understand.
You can also put the machine on auto and preform on yourself to show that it doesn’t
hurt.
If they are scared, take a photo while they are still farther away to gauge how well of an
image you can get. After the first try they are usually up to do it completely or are done
with the machine. I always try even if we do not get good photos in hopes that they will
be more likely to be calm during the next exam.
I generally recommend parents to do the optomap exam if they think that their child is
able. Usually I would say starting around 4 is common, but you can do it on any child
that has the right personality. This is usually pretty easy to see once you complete the
auto-refractor
With the autorefractor, my favorite phrase to use is to pretend like your forehead is stuck
to the top bar of the machine. One of the main issues that arise is that the child is
moving around too much, and this can usually help.