What eye tests may be carried out?

Anumber oftests may be carried out to check for vision or eye problems in babies and children. Some of these are described below.

The red reflex test

The red reflex test is usually carried out alongside a general examination of your baby's eyes, as part of newborn checks. It involves using an instrument called an ophthalmoscope, whichmagnifies the eyes and produces alight that allows the eyes to be examined clearly.

When light is shone into your baby's eyes, a red reflection should be seen as it's reflected back. If a white reflection is seen, it could be a sign of an eye problem.

The pupil reflex test

The pupil reflex test involves shining a light into each of your babys eyes to checkhowtheir pupils (black dots at the centre of the eyes) react to light.

Your baby's pupils should automatically shrink in response to the light. If they don't, it could be a sign of a problem with their eyes.

Attention to visual objects

This is a simple test to check whether a newborn baby pays attention to visual objects. A midwife or doctor will try to catch your baby's attention with an interesting object. They then move it to see if the child's eyes follow.

These sorts of tests can also be used to check the eyesight of older babies and young children who are not yet able to speak. If your child can speak, but is not yet able to recognise letters, pictures may be used instead of objects.

Snellen and LogMAR charts

When your child can recognise or match letters, their vision is tested using charts that have rows of letters and numbers of decreasing sizes. Your child will be asked to read out or match the letters they can see from a specific distance. These charts are called Snellen or LogMAR charts.

For younger children, a similar test using pictures or symbols may be carried out instead.

Range of movement tests

To test the range of movement of each eye, a child's attention will be drawn to an interesting object, which is then moved to eight different positions: up, down, left, right, and halfway between each of these points. This tests how well the eye muscles work.

Refraction test

A refraction test is carried out by an optometrist at a high street opticians and is used to determine if your child needs glasses and what prescription they need.

Before the test, your child may be given special eye drops that widen their pupils, so the back of theireyes can be examined more clearly. Your child will be asked tolook at a light, or read letters on a chart if they're old enough, while different lenses are placed in front of their eyes.

Colourvision deficiencytest

Colour vision deficiency tests, also known as colour blindness tests,are usually carried out in older children if a problem is suspected.

One of the tests used to check for colour blindness is the Ishihara test. This involves looking at images that are made up of dots in two different colours. If a child's colour vision is normal, they'll be able to recognise a letter or number within the image.

A child who can't tell the difference between two colours won't be able to see the number or letter, which means they may have a colour vision problem. They can have an eye test at any age.