Did you ever notice your little one rubbing his eyes constantly? Or does he have a tendency to play or stay in a dark room or in low light? Or while watching TV, does he sit too close to it? Does he have trouble reading the blackboard at school? If you ever notice any of these issues, don’t wait to get the best treatment in paediatric ophthalmology for your child’s eye.
As your child grows, his/her eyes also undergo a quick change. But as he cannot express well what is bothering him, parents often unknowingly tend to neglect the child’s eye issues. This ultimately leads to a bigger vision problem in the latter days. But, proper awareness and careful attention to your child’s eye can help to catch a lot of the issues earlier and correct them altogether.
So here in this blog, we’re going to discuss the common signs of your child’s vision disorder, types, prevention, management and treatment of some common eye diseases for your child. We know, as parents, you’re eagerly waiting for such a comprehensive guide on your child’s eye care. So here it is!
Signs to Seek Paediatric Ophthalmology Treatment for Your Child
As parents, we know you’re always watchful of your child’s conveniences and behaviors. But what about the things that bother your child but he can’t express? Yes! There are certain things that are internally annoying to him but he can’t really frame those troubles in words. One such thing is eye disorders. The common signs are as follows:
- Continuous eye rubbing
- Excessive sensitivity to lights
- Problem to follow an object
- Difficulty in focusing
- Chronic redness in the eyes
- Unusual movement of the eyes (after 6 months of age)
- Constant watering or discharge from the eyes
- White pupil instead of a black one
- Difficulty in seeing distant objects
- Trouble to read the blackboard at school
- Difficulty in reading books or holds a book closely
- Squinting or crossed eyes
So notice if your little one has any of the above signs and rush to the top ophthalmologist in Mumbai so that the issues don’t become permanent and damage his vision. If diagnosed early, a lot of eye problems can be corrected.
Also Read: Know Your Child’s Eyes Better
Common Eye Disorders of Your Child
So now that you’ve known the symptoms of your child’s eye conditions, let’s discuss a few common types of eye diseases.
1. Refractive Errors:
It implies that the shape of the eyes of your little one doesn’t bend light in the right way. It causes the images to appear cloudy or blurred. It can also cause nearsightedness or poor distant vision, farsightedness, or astigmatism.
2. Amblyopia:
Amblyopia is also called Lazy Eye. It is a condition where your child can have poor vision in one eye that also may seem normal. It’s best treated at the earliest, ideally before your child is 8 years old. Because after that, the brain’s programming will slowly learn to ignore the signals from that affected eye. Hence, if not corrected, amblyopia can lead to permanent loss of vision in the affected eye.
3. Strabismus:
It is a critical condition where both the eyes of your baby are misaligned. They might turn at any direction, in, out, up, or down. If the same eye is disordered or misaligned, amblyopia can also develop in that eye. If detected earlier, eye-sight can be restored by mending the properly aligned eye, that forces the misaligned eye to work. Specially designed spectacles or surgery can also help the eyes to align and correct the vision.
4. Infantile Cataracts:
A cataract or clouding of the eye’s lens can show up to the newborns.
5. Retinoblastoma:
A malignant tumor can generally occur in the first 3 years of your child’s life. The eyes affected might have a loss of vision and whiteness in the pupil.
6. Congenital Glaucoma:
It is a rare eye condition in the infants that are generally inherited. Incorrect or incomplete development of the eye drainage canals before birth can cause high eye pressure. This disorder also needs immediate attention and can be treated with medicine and surgery.
Apart from all these, many kids suffer from a few common types of eye allergies like:
7. Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis:
It occurs due to season change, smoke, dust, cosmetics etc. Symptoms include the following:
- Eye redness,
- Itchiness,
- Blurry vision,
- Inflamed eyes,
- Discomfort in bright lights,
- Burning sensation under the eyelids,
- Excessive watering from the eyes etc
8. Atopic Keratoconjunctivitis:
It affects both the eyes and is strongly linked to atopic dermatitis or eczema. If it is not treated on time, it can scar the cornea. Often it occurs to your late teenager or people in their fifties. Common symptoms are the following:
- Blurry or cloudy vision
- Itchiness in the eyes
- Tearing
- Burning sensation in the eyes
- Thick mucus discharge
Prevention of Your Child’s Eye Disorder
It’s true that no one can prevent the occurrence of an inherited eye condition in a child. But little carefulness and attention can detect the problem as early as possible and start the required treatment to get it corrected. Paediatric ophthalmology treatment is possible with the complete cooperation of the parents with the doctors. While the doctors can diagnose and treat the actual problems, as parents, you should also be attentive to your child’s vision care. Few general preventive measures that can keep the eye-allergies away are as follows:
- Avoid any contact with dust, pollen
- Keep them from rubbing eyes anytime
- Minimize the exposure to dust mites
- Wear eyeglasses or sunglasses when outside
- Keep home humidity at a lower level
- Rinse your child’s eye with cold water
- Keep your home clean, but not when your child is around
- Always stay watchful to any abnormal gestures with your child’s eyes.
Best Place for Paediatric Ophthalmology – Arohi Eye Hospital
So this was a comprehensive guide to your child’s eye care. As parents, you must be always watchful to any discomfort that the child may have and reach out to the best paediatric ophthalmologist in Mumbai for consultation and treatment. Generally, if diagnosed early, most of the child eye conditions are treated with medicines or eye-glasses.
Arohi Eye Hospital is the best place for treatment in paediatric ophthalmology in Mumbai, India. We have separate departments for different eye diseases, and these departments are armoured with specialists doctors who have years of experience in the relevant field. The laboratories are also equipped with the latest instruments for diagnosis, treatment and surgery.
So if you’re looking for the best place for your child’s eye care, Get in Touch with us and let your child feel the freedom of corrected vision, right away!
Dr. Shradha Goel
Dr. Shradha Goel, Chief Surgeon at Arohi Eye Hospital, is a renowned Phaco-LASIK surgeon with over 10,000 surgeries to her credit. She earned her MBBS from Grant Medical College, Mumbai, and a Master’s in Ophthalmology from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal. As a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Dr. Goel specialises in LASIK, refractive errors, and cataract treatments.