Contents:
- Medical Video: Recognizing vision problems in children
- What causes vision problems in infants?
- Signs of a baby have vision problems
Medical Video: Recognizing vision problems in children
Impaired vision in infants can have a negative impact on the overall development of the child. Therefore, it is very important for parents to detect early vision problems in infants so that further treatment can be carried out. What are the symptoms of visual impairment in infants? Here's the review.
What causes vision problems in infants?
Until the age of 6 months, the baby's vision is still blurry. After the age of 6 months, the baby begins to learn to coordinate his eyes to see so that his vision will develop rapidly. However, sometimes this does not occur because of a disturbance in the baby's vision.
There are several things that can be the cause of visual impairment in infants, including refractive disorders (minus eyes and plus eyes) which are the most common causes in children. Besides that, it can also be caused by:
- Amblyopia - poor vision in one eye that causes the eye to "not be used", also called "lazy eye".
- Infantile cataracts - cataracts that occur in infants that are usually caused by congenital abnormalities.
- Retinopathy of prematurity - eye diseases that usually occur in premature babies.
- Strabismus - squint eyes.
Signs of a baby have vision problems
Babies who experience visual impairments at certain ages will show some symptoms. Babies with vision problems 3 months old can show the following symptoms:
- Cannot follow objects using their eyes
- Cannot guard against hand movements (at 2 months of age)
- Having trouble moving one or both eyeballs in all directions
- Eyes often become squinted
Whereas at 6 months old, the baby can show the following symptoms:
- One eye or both eyes almost every time
- The eyes become watery
- Do not follow objects that are at close range (approximately 30 cm distance) or distant objects (approximately 2 meters) with their eyes
In addition, you also have to pay attention to some important things that are a sign of abnormalities in the eyes of a child who might interfere with his vision such as:
- The center of the eye which should be black (pupil) turns white or has a white shadow on the center of the eyeball.
- Eyelids that are not open or half open can cover the baby's view.
- Squint eyes, can be caused by amblyopia (lazy eye) or an abnormality in the muscles of eye movement (extraocular muscle).
If you find these signs in your child, do not hesitate to take your child to a pediatrician for examination. If a pediatrician finds a disorder, then it is possible to be referred to an ophthalmologist.
Remember, your role as a parent is vital for detecting these abnormalities. The faster you detect abnormalities in your child's eyes, the better the handling that will be given later so that the child's growth and development is not disturbed.
