Control your child, it’s important.
From early childhood, the ocular health should be controlled periodically by an ophthalmologist. Frequently, vision problems often go unnoticed in children for one simple reason: kids do not have a point of reference; therefore they feel like ”normal” the way they see.
Early control is essential to prevent eye problems or serious consequences in the vision that will not be able to be remedied in the future with glasses or surgery. For that reason it is important that children have adequate ophthalmological attention.
The sight of a child
Newborn infants can only distinguish objects such as packages; that vision improves in the first month of life when the baby does achieve to stare at the light, and at three months, the baby can follow objects moving in front of him. In the early phases of childhood the vision continues to develop as the eyes keep growing. However, if the eyes do not develop its full strength, the visual ability diminishes. After reaching the age of 7, the evolution of the visual system tends to be completed and the visual defects that had not been treated (after 9 to 10 years old) cannot be improved; this condition is called amblyopia (lazy eye).
When is recommended to make the visual controls?
Children’s vision develops and changes since birth. The first few years of life are very important for this process. The children, even those without vision problems, should be controlled by an ophthalmologist at birth, at 6 months of life, preschool age (3 or 4 years old), and afterword periodically during school age. Newborn and school entry controls becomes part of mandatory medical check ups.
The pediatrician or a family doctor can check the eyes and vision; however, a full assessment can only be performed by an ophthalmologist.
At present time there are techniques and instruments that allow the specialist to determine if there are visual or ocular problems at any age, even in children who still cannot speak, helped by the enormous progress made in the field of Pediatric Ophthalmology.
Which are the most common ocular problems in childhood?
Astigmatism: causes images appearing distorted.
Myopia: near vision is clear but far vision is blurry.
Hyperopia: this is a natural optical condition in children that will disappear as the eyes grow. However, when it remains outside the normal range, it can provoke headaches or eyestrain, even amblyopia, and in some cases it is accompanied by strabismus.
Cataract: congenital or traumatic opacity of the crystalline lens which in normal conditions is clear and transparent. Comparison could be made to a window that becomes foggy with vapor.
Strabismus: It occurs when one eye deviate. This is a common cause of amblyopia.
Retinopathy of prematurity: affects the veins and arteries in the interior of the eye in a premature or low weigh baby. In some cases this pathology could deteriorate the vision.
Color blindness: it is a defect that hinders or prevents the vision of colors . It is much more frequent in boys than in girls.
Amblyopia: is the lack of normal development of vision during childhood. This problem is also called “lazy eye”. When one eye develops good vision and the other doesn’t, the one eye with poor vision is called amblyopic or ”lazy”.
Amblyopia can affect one or both eyes. It is a common problem and could affect 4 out of 100 people. Amblyopia can only be corrected if it is treated in childhood. For this reason it is recommended to make ophthalmologic controls in early childhood to help children to see properly in the future. It is very important to treat amblyopia as soon as possible.
Causes and symptoms
Strabismus: misaligned eyes produce double vision, therefore the vision of the deviated eye is annulled by brain to avoid the double vision; so the child brain prefers the good eye and the other eye becomes “lazy” or amblyopic.
Different focus: it occurs in the refractive errors (myopia, astigmatism and hyperopia) and opacity (caused by cataract, for example) .One eye sees less than the other .Therefore ,the optical system of the child annuls the vision in the “bad” eye and uses the one with better vision. It can cause amblyopia.
Leukocoria: It means white pupil and it is caused by opacities existing in the transparent parts of the eye such as cornea, crystalline lens, vitreous humor .Leucokoria can be provoked by corneal scars, cataracts, congenital pathologies, previous retinal detachment, etc.
Treatment
First, the ophthalmologist will diagnose and correct the cause of amblyopia. Later, the amblyopia has to be treated with the help of the child who will have to do a great effort to use the ”lazy” eye. This is usually accomplished by a patch covering the eye with good vision during the day and at certain determined hours, for weeks or months.
If amblyopia is not treated, the amblyopic eye can suffer an irreversible visual defect, and if the good eye becomes ill or injured, the patient could develop poor vision for life.
The ophthalmologist could instruct parents on how to treat amblyopia; however it is absolutely their responsibility to continue with the treatment. No child likes to have an eye patch, specially the eye that sees more, but parents must play their part convincing their child that it is best for him/her. The success of the treatment will be closely linked to the interest, participation and responsibility of the parents and the child’s cooperation.
The outcome of the treatment will depend on the severity of amblyopia and the child’s age at the time of detection. If amblyopia is discovered after 8 or 9 years old, treatment may fail or be less effective; that’s why it is very important to have regular consultations with the ophthalmologist from an early age.
