Q: I have a four and half years old son. From the last few days he is having some sort of itching in his eyes. When we took him to an eye specialist, it was found that our child needs to wear spectacles (with a power of -1.25 both in the left and the right eye). Can you tell us what could be the probable cause for our child to get specs at this tender age? Will wearing glasses for reduce the power? Do we need to take a second opinion? Please advise.

A:Children can be borne with slightly smaller or bigger eyes. This can either make them long sighted (hypermetropia) or shortsighted (myopia). In your case, it seems your childs eye are slightly larger, which makes him need minus lens power. In the case of children, wearing glasses only improves the sight or reduces the strain on their eyes, it does not make the eyes any better. Similarly, not wearing spectacles doesn't make it worse. Your son will need glasses for watching TV or looking at the blackboard at school. You don't need a second opinion; just ask the child whether he sees distant things better with glasses. The lens power can increase as he grows older. This is not a disease but only a physical condition. Make sure he does not read in poor light or hold books very close to his eyes.