Eyes

Today the Canal Fulton Lions Club is doing eye testing at the Canal Fulton Primary School.  The children being tested will enter kindergarten in the fall.

What a lot of people might not know is that the Lions Clubs are focused on the eyes and the prevention of blindness.  Eye testing is part of that mission.  Within the last couple of years, innovations in eye screening have brought revolutionary changes.  The device scans the eyes in low light and gives readings on five different areas of concern: farsightedness, nearsightedness, astigmatism, lazy eye, and gaze problems.  It also suggests a possible prescription.

The device is called a "camera" but it doesn't actually take a picture of the eyes in the traditional sense.  The child only has to sit on a chair and be still for a few seconds and it's done.  A router sends a signal to the printer and a summary copy of the results is printed out for the school and/or parents.

The cost of this camera is about $7,000.  It might sound like a lot of money, but what a wonderful thing!!  The Lions in this community have found many cases of lazy eye which must be corrected in the earlier grades or the damage becomes permanent.  The beauty of it, though, is in preschoolers who may not even be able to participate in the usual eye screening.  They have screened children as young as 18 months, and one of those children it turns out needed glasses.  They have used it for special needs children as well, and this has been an exceptional assistance.

Other screening devices are now being used by optometrists to get a more precise measurement for glasses or contacts.  This verifies information that the doctor can get from the usual testing, and in time, the usual testing may be phased out.  That would be my guess. 

Our eyes are such a gift!!  And I think the Lions have a very important mission.  Please support them when you can.