Children Eye Care - How to identify a problem in children’s eyes?

Dr.Vidya Chaudhry, 4 mins read

Eyes are a beautiful gift we are blessed with. It is one of our sensory organs that need proper care right from birth. A child’s eye needs to be screened early in childhood as children often do not complain of vision difficulties, especially so if the problem is in only one eye and the other is functioning normally. Visual development occurs maximally in the first few years of life, and if issues are not addressed early, children may be left with permanent visual impairments or lazy eyes. One should keep monitoring a child for early signs of vision difficulties like poor eye contact. Children normally start making eye contact, smiling, and looking at you by three to four months of age. There may be fine jerky movement of the eyes. If you see white patches in the middle of the eyes instead of normal eye color, it may indicate a cataract or even a tumour inside the eye. Children may have abnormalities in the alignment of the eyes, called squint, where the two eyes do not look in the same direction or may experience blurring of vision as they grow older. The children who go through these problems will avoid interaction with other children, will not look in a book, or will not play with the toys. If parents can take notice and address these signs on time, the problems can be diagnosed and treated early, allowing for normal vision development.

Apart from this maintaining good eye health is equally important especially in a world where we are surrounded by multiple electronic gadgets like video games, cell phones, and televisions. Spending too much time on screen can damage the child’s eyes. Excessive near-screen viewing is associated with the development/ increase of existing minus power spectacles, increased strain in the eyes causing symptoms like eye pain and headaches, and dryness of the eyes. The smaller the children are, the more the vulnerability. The parent must plan the daily activities in such a way that the children spend minimal time on screen and maximum time doing outdoor or off-screen activities. The issues in children have increased during the period of COVID-19 pandemic due to drastic increase in screen time since education has also shifted to online classes. You should consult your pediatric ophthalmologist to know your child’s eye health and avoid any major problems in the future as small children do not have a voice of their own to say that they cannot see.

We at Aakash Healthcare provide advanced treatment for all eye-related problems, from vision care for premature babies to SMILE - LASIK laser for spectacle removal, treatment of complex squint and oculoplasty conditions, vitreoretinal conditions and retinal detachment surgeries, micro-incision (laser) cataract surgery, and glaucoma treatment, eye injury, and cosmetic facial treatments and also corneal transplantation surgery at affordable cost. Aakash Healthcare super speciality is considered as one of the best centres/hospitals for Eye treatment/care and has one of the best eye doctors/ophthalmologists in Dwarka Delhi. We preserve your vision not only your sight

Common disorders of the eye in children include:

 • Refractive errors: Many children require glasses for better vision. This condition is often diagnosed late, leading to eye strains, headaches, and sometimes lazy eye/amblyopia. Often eyeglasses are sufficient to get rid of refractive errors. However, if the problem is associated with lazy eye or other eye problems, treatment may be more than just glasses.

 • Squint: It is an eye disorder where the eyes appear “crossed”. This problem arises when the eyes are misaligned. It affects visual development, and children need treatment at an early stage to correct the problem to avoid permanent visual impairment. Unlike popular belief, delay in treatment of squint will allow for a mere cosmetic correction of a problem that could have had a functional correction as well.

• Amblyopia/Lazy eye: This condition of eyes may result from unequal or high power of glasses between the two eyes, a squint or conditions like childhood cataract that impair vision. When the medical intervention is not done on time, the visual connections between the eye and the brain become weak, resulting in a lazy eye. Lazy eye may be corrected with treatment of the underlying condition, and amblyopia therapy which includes treatments such as occlusion therapy

• Paediatric cataract: This condition of eyes is often missed if the child is affected in only one, and the other eye is functioning normally. Routine eye screening is very important. It helps to detect and treat the problem appropriately. Cataracts may range from mild to dense cataract. Mild cataracts can also result in amblyopia.

• Paediatric glaucoma: The treatment of paediatric glaucoma is different from adult glaucoma. Most young patients require surgical intervention and need specialists for the treatment

• Ptosis – It is a condition in which the upper eyelid droops. Whether the lid droops slightly or covers the pupil entirely it can affect your normal vision.

• Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP): It is a disease affecting preterm and low birth weight babies and can be potentially blinding. All preterm babies need to be screened within the first few weeks of birth and managed appropriately depending on the severity of the disease.

 • Retinoblastoma: This condition is a rare form of cancer affecting the light-sensitive retinal cells that enable sight. Although retinoblastoma is very rare, it is the most common ocular malignancy in children and the third most common cancer to affect children.

How to assess a child’s vision?

Here are some tips to assess if your child has a vision problem:

• Please see if your child often has fatigue in the eyes/headaches/watering of the eyes
• If you find your children straining to read, squeezing eyes to read, or watch television, it is time to get an eye check-up done. Children who have constant watering eyes or headaches should also be screened. Please see if your child hold books close to eyes or strain to read
• Please see if your child moves closer to the TV or squeeze eyes to see clearly
• See if your child fails to recognize you or look towards a bright light
• See if your child’s eyes appear misaligned?
• In a flash photograph, does the reflex in your child’s eye appear white instead of red? 
• Is there a family history of any eye disorder?
• Difficulty in reading a calendar from as far as you can with each eye checked one by one
• Sometimes all that may be noticed are behavioural changes. Children who do not see well in a classroom, often disrupt the class or are disinterested, and are often termed “ brats” or “dull”

If you observe any of the mentioned problems, please see an eye specialist as soon as possible, irrespective of age. A paediatric ophthalmologist uses special paediatric vision charts and does other tests to assess a child’s vision, and treats any eye disorder appropriately.

Eye Safety for Children:

• Make sure children wear protective eyewear during sports, bursting crackers, playing with colors during Holi, or other hazardous activities
• Supervision of children when they use pencils, scissors, forks, and knives. Always supervise even when they use common household items such as paper clips, rubber bands, or wire hangers can cause serious eye injury
• Keep all chemicals, sprays, and household cleaners out of reach of small children
• Select age-appropriate games and toys

Dr. Vidya Nair Chaudhry is one of the best paediatric ophthalmologists in Dwarka, Delhi. She has been providing cutting-edge ophthalmology treatment since 2008, after receiving world-renowned ophthalmology training at AIIMS. She has a natural rapport with children and specializes in Paediatric Ophthalmology, Squint, Oculoplasty, and Facial Aesthetics. She has over 500 complex squint and oculoplasty cases under her belt and is skilled at restoring face rejuvenation with fillers and Botox. She was awarded the International Council of Ophthalmology Fellowship in Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, which she completed at Johns Hopkins University's prestigious Wilmer Eye Institute.

Book an appointment with Aakash Healthcare today for better eye treatment.

Also Read: Glaucoma- Its Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment