Backpack…Pencils…Notebook…Eye Check?

Back to School time is a good time to take a careful inventory of our eyes and our body. The following tips are quite useful for not only improving your performance and that or your children, but also to maintain our journey to wellness throughout our lives. Remember too, that just as your children are learning lessons that will stay with them for a lifetime while at school, the lessons about taking care of their bodies, with your help, will become a part of their lifestyle.

Maximize vision and identify any problems through an annual eye examination. This is especially true for children beginning school, and also for those moving onto another school. The eye examination can identify many important factors, including whether your child sees well without the need for corrective lenses. Having a physical examination and hearing test may be appropriate, as well.

Learning challenges can be detected by careful observation. If you child’s attention span or ability to sit still concerns you, it is important to check the eyes, as well as have an educational consultant. Learning disabilities can be improved through manipulation of the diet and adding DHA, 100 mg to 300 mg. DHA is a long-chain fatty acid that comes from algae and fish.

Avoid the chance of eye trauma, and select games and activities that will not jeopardize vision. Insist that your children wear eye protection for racquet and other sports, and point out that many professional athletes now wear such protection. Also, insist that they wear eye protection while participating in other possibly hazardous activities such as wood shop.

Pink eye, or conjunctivitis, can be spread through touching and then rubbing the eyes. It is easily spread in a school environment. There is a future treatment with iodine using 1% to 2.5% iodine solution. This proven treatment method will soon be available to control pink eye.

Be aware of your child’s diet. Going back to school is a good time to reduce refined sugars, flour and artificial flavors and trans-fats in your child’s diet. Substitute healthy alternatives such as nuts, berries, fruits and vegetables for snacks.
Identify allergy, sinus problems or middle ear infections. Many times, allergic conditions may be diet-related. Eliminating milk or wheat from a child’s diet for one month may very well clear up these annoying conditions. Artificial flavors may cause irascibility and attention loss, as well.

Teach your child to be a partner in his or her own health. Make them take responsibility for ho they feel and participate in any treatment that is necessary. A positive attitude by you and your children will go a long way to making the school year an excellent one, and to realizing that most medical problems can be resolved with simple methods.