Vision problems affect one in 20 preschoolers and one in four school-aged children.

September is children's eye health and safety month. Eye care specialists with University of Iowa Children's Hospital want parents to know that their children can have serious vision problems with few, if any, warning signs.

Eye specialists say good eye health begins early in life. Infants should be screened for common eye problems during regular pediatric appointments. And vision testing should begin for 'all' children starting at age three.

"Those children - 95 percent of those - are not easily detected without an examination," says Ronald Keech, M.D., UI Health Care Ophthalmologist. "You just can't look at the child and tell that there's a problem going on. Once you detect that problem, it's much easier to treat and correct the problem when you catch it earlier than when you see them at a later age and they tell you they have a problem."

More serious eye conditions include amblyopia - or lazy eye; strabismus or crossed eyes; and ptosis or a drooping of the upper eyelid. Regular screenings can also determine if children need glasses or contacts to see better.

Also important is eye safety. That's especially true for children participating in athletics. Sports-related eye injuries affect thousands of children every year. The best defense against eye injury is for children to wear protective eyewear when participating in athletics.

For more information:

University of Iowa Children's Hospital

National Eye Institute

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