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Pediatric Center

Vision care for All Ages

Pediatric Eye Care at Eye Center of Northern Colorado

Pediatric Eye Care

Development of the visual system occurs from birth through the first ten years of life. Ideally, children should have their first eye exam when they’re around 3 ½ years old, and an exam at any age if a problem is suspected. Having a complete eye exam will help diagnose vision problems without any symptoms, and vision problems in infants and toddlers who are not able to verbalize their frustrations. At the Eye Center of Northern Colorado, your child’s complete examination will help detect and treat any potential problems with their vision, including amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (misalignment of the eyes), significant refractive errors, or congenital cataracts. Early detection is vital to correcting these problems and others before they result in permanent damage.

Dr. Patrick Arnold is the Eye Center of Northern Colorado’s fellowship-trained ophthalmologist. Dr. Arnold is the only full-time specialist in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus in Northern Colorado. He and his excellent pediatric team are the best choice for your family and your child’s eye care needs.

Amblyopia (Lazy Eye)

Amblyopia is a condition where one eye does not reach visual acuity as fast as the other eye, causing vision problems. It can be caused by eye misalignment (strabismus), refractive error, or deprivation (something blocking the vision, like a cataract or a droopy eyelid). This condition can be hard for parents to diagnose because it may not be outwardly visible.

When caught early, amblyopia is usually treatable with glasses or contact lenses. Placing an eye patch on the strong eye or using a dilating eye drop (atropine treatment) to blur the vision in one eye are also effective in forcing the “lazy eye” to develop normally.

FAQs -  Pediatrics

Any new patient should plan for 1.5-2 hours.

Yes! We are always happy to try to see two children from the same family on the same day to help decrease your visits into the office. We do limit the number of siblings to two per day but may make exceptions for families who travel an exceptional distance and have not missed an appointment. Please call our office if you have questions about this policy.

We’re happy to see your child for routine eye exams, but recommend bring your child in only if you have specific vision concerns, if they fail a vision screening, or if there is a concern about your family’s vision history.

We don’t perform vision therapy at our office, but there are at-home exercises we can recommend.

We always recommend a dilated eye exam for new pediatric patients. We understand that the eye drops are never fun and can be the most stressful part of the exam for both patients and parents, but it’s a crucial part of the exam. Dilation allows us to get the most accurate assessment of refractive error (glasses prescription) and the best look at the health of the back of the eye. Dilation will take place on an annual basis to ensure lenses are up to date as children grow.

All ages! We see babies that are just days old and adults who are 100+ with double vision. If you have questions about what specifically you should bring your child in for at what age, please call our office.

We have several optical shop locations with opticians who are experienced in working with children. You can also take the glasses prescription to a referring provider’s office or another optical shop. We do recommend making sure the optical shop you choose is experienced in working with children and has plenty of children’s frames to choose from.

Almost all surgeries performed by the Eye Center of Northern Colorado surgeons are performed at our Precision office off of Harmony and Zeigler in our ambulatory surgery center. For pediatric patients, we work with experienced pediatric anesthesiologists. Special diagnoses are taken into account and worked with on a case-by-case scenario to ensure the patient’s safety.

Meet Our Doctors

Ophthalmologists at the Eye Center of Northern Colorado are fellowship-trained and offer care in many areas of specialty, medical, and surgical care.

Patient Testimonials

If you have a baby with eye problems, this is the place to go and Dr. Patrick Arnold is the man to see. Our nine-month-old son has exotropia and today he had the surgery to help fix it. Everything went as perfectly as any parent sending their baby into surgery could possibly hope for. I’m mostly writing this review as a thank you to the nurses we worked with when we were in there.
Ashlie S.
Pediatrics Eye Care
I do a lot of outdoor activities in Colorado and with the dry air, my contact lenses were almost unbearable at times. That led me to looking in having LASIK surgery. The process was smooth and convenient. Now I can enjoy my activities with clear vision and pain free.
Dr. David Sehr
LASIK Surgery
Dr. Arnold has been our saving grace with our son. We were referred to him by our eye doctor in Cheyenne, WY when we could get to the bottom of why my son’s eye wasn’t healing from what we thought were scratches. He has taken such great care of our son. He is so patient and makes the young patients and their parents feel as ease. So thankful for him.
Jason R.
Pediatrics Eye Care
As a radiologist, my career depends on my vision. I had always wanted to rid myself of my glasses but was hesitant to take the plunge. After several of my partners had the procedure done and reported great results, I had my LASIK done with Dr. Robinson. After wearing glasses for 35 years, it is wonderful to be able to see the world without them.
Bruce Berkowitz, MD
LASIK Surgery
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