There are numerous eye conditions that are difficult to detect, especially in children. But parents can try to compensate for what the eye doctor might miss and save their child’s eyesight.
Fox News writes in this article, “There are many conditions that can cause blindness in a child if not caught on time. One such condition is pediatric glaucoma, which occurs when the pressure in the eye is elevated, causing damage to the optic nerve. Other more common conditions that can affect a child’s vision include strabismus, a crossing of the eyes, or amblyopia, poor vision in one or both of the eyes.” These conditions often go undetected especially because young children cannot sense the symptoms.
Doctors warn that if these issues go untreated they can lead to permanent blindness in a child’s eyes. If not blindness then at the least there will be problems with the development of the child’s eyes, which will lead to issues in learning and possible social awkwardness.
There are symptoms that parents can look for to detect these eye conditions. One doctor told Fox, “There are two types of pediatric glaucoma- infantile and juvenile. Infantile glaucoma, which becomes evident within months of birth, is associated with several symptoms that parents may be able to spot. Children don’t seem to want to open their eyes in the light, the surface of the eye looks cloudy, their eye looks teary. Some infants will also have enlarged corneas. However juvenile glaucoma is asymptomatic. It’s only picked up if a child goes for a vision exam and something is detected like poor vision or they go for a routine evaluation and someone looks inside their eyes.”
Some conditions are easier to detect such as strabismus where the eye clearly wanders or crosses. Researchers are urging parents to take their children for regular eye exams as well as check their children’s eyes (pupils etc.) at home regularly.
