When children go to the ophthalmologist, they often need to have their pupils dilated for examination. Parents are often worried because they don’t understand what dilated pupils are all about. In fact, there is no need. Children’s eyes are more adjustable than adults’, so they can often “hide” some of their prescriptions. To get the true prescription, you need to order dilating ointment and dilate the pupils before the eye exam. This process takes place twice a day in each eye for small children under 12 years old, and takes three days, with a follow-up exam on the fourth day. It takes about 20 days for the pupil to recover after stopping the medication. During this time, the child will have some blurred vision up close; there is no need to worry, it will recover completely. Only for children who are in school, it will affect reading and writing. For older children over the age of 12, you can order drops in the hospital and have your light examined 40 minutes later.