WHAT IS PAEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGY & SQUINT?

This is a sub specialty of ophthalmology that is concerned with treating the eye problems affecting children. Children may not complain if they do not see out of one or both eyes. Children have strong accommodative component hence their eyes are able to mask most of the refractive errors. Sometimes the only clue may be poor performance in school as well viewing the blackboard at a very close distance.

Hence all children need regular eye checkups. Of the many eye problems in children, the most important are refractive errors, squint and amblyopia. EYE ALLERGY has recently emerged as a major problem for the children living in the metro cities. This kind of allergy has to be handled with care and should be managed by only and ophthalmologist

paediatric Ophthalmology

  • How to know if your child has Eye related concerns?
  • What are some common eye diseases in children?
  • How to prevent the occurrence of your child’s eye related concerns?
  • My child has squint, what should I do?

That’s really tricky. Getting to know your child’s eye issues is not an easy task. You can not expect him/her to talk about the vision discomfort in person. Then how do you know what’s the problem? Simply by becoming more and more attentive to how your child behaves. You need to keep an eye on your child’s gestures such as the following to know about their vision discomfort. Check if your child is

  • Rubbing the eye constantly
  • Having excessive light sensitivity
  • Issues with focusing
  • Having redness in the eye
  • Watering in the eye
  • Squinting
  • Unable to read the blackboard
  • Holding a book very close to the eye.
  • Sitting close to the TV.
  • Preferring indoor activity and having trouble playing outside.
  • Becoming withdrawn and speaking less.
  • Constantly falling grades.

Although detecting the actual problem in your child’s eye is a bit tricky for the parents, a timely diagnosis and treatment can help your child in achieving useful and near normal vision. All you need to do is to take the initiative and ensure that you get your child’s eye examined in time. Some common child eye allergies are:

Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis: This occurs due to the change of season, smoke, dust, cosmetics etc. If your child’s eye is infected with this disease he/she will show the symptoms like:

  • Eye itchiness
  • Pink or red eyes
  • Inflammation
  • Blurry vision
  • Light sensitivity
  • Excessive tearing in the eye etc.

Atopic Keratoconjunctivitis:It comes with eczema or atopic dermatitis. As a result, your child will show the following signs of the disease:

  • Burning sensation in the eye
  • Cloudy vision
  • Itchy eyes
  • Too much watering
  • Thick mucus discharge etc.

Other common eye diseases of a child are as follows:

  • Refractive error where the shape of the eye makes it difficult to bend light in the proper way
  • Strabismus or Squint where both the eyes are misaligned
  • Infantile Cataracts where your child’s vision becomes cloudy
  • Amblyopia where one eye of your child has poor vision but it looks like normal
  • Retinoblastoma where a deadly tumour in the eye can cause vision loss etc.

Children will almost never complain about their eye conditions and related problems. Children have a good sense of adaptability. They will adapt to any disease and try to minimize its effect as much as possible by compensatory mechanisms. As a parent it is your responsibility to ensure that the child gets checked/examined in time to ensure that the diseases are ruled out. Nero plasticity in a child is present only till the age of 8 years. If a child has glasses power and fails to use them because of non diagnosis then such a child shall have lazy eye which can become permanent. A timely examination and the right glasses can help your child attain near normal to normal vision.

Squint is one of the commonest conditions of the eye. If your child is experiencing squint then it is important that your get him/her checked at the earliest. Squint in a child can lead to lazy eye and make him/her potentially blind in the squinting eye.

Squint is not just a cosmetic blemish but can also cause a great deal of suffering for the child. It reduces the self esteem of the child causing behavioral problems.

Squint can be corrected by the following methods based upon the type and cause:

  • Spectacles.
  • Surgery
  • Combination of the above two
  • Vision therapy.

What is Vision therapy?

Vision therapy is the latest modality of treatment for treating a variety of conditions like squint, computer vision syndrome, nystagmus etc without opting for surgery. It is a validated science where in a certified vision therapist is employed who conducts regular consultations for performing the eye exercises under supervision. Bhalanetra superspeciality eye hospital boasts of having an inhouse vision therapist. for more details consult with our chief eye specialist to know more.

Bhalanetra Superspeciality Eye Hospital has a dedicated Paediatric Ophthalmologist and a strabismologist.

For more details and to book your appointment please call us on +91 9833976577.

Disclaimer: The services mentioned and Photographs used are for representational and education purpose. The actual procedure & Result may vary from patient to patient. For more details on the topics and treatment plan, please consult with our experts at Bhalanetra Superspeciality Eye Hospital to know more.