Kids Eye Conditions

Some eye conditions which affect children are:

  1.  Refractive errors which include:

    1. Myopia (nearsightedness): This occurs when the eyeball is too long or the cornea is too curved, causing light to focus in front of the retina instead of on it, making distant objects appear blurry. This is more likely to develop in early teenage years and generally the earlier it develops to worse it will get. 

    2. Hyperopia (farsightedness): This occurs when the eyeball is too short or the cornea is too flat, causing light to focus behind the retina instead of on it, generally making close objects appear blurry. Babies are generally born with some degree of hyperopia and as the eyes grow this reduces so normally around the age of 5 they have minimal refractive error remaining. Higher amounts of hyperopia than usual may requires spectacle correction.

    3. Astigmatism: This occurs when the cornea or lens is irregularly shaped, causing light to be focused unevenly on the retina, leading to distorted or blurred vision at all distances.

  2. Amblyopia (lazy eye): This is a condition where one eye does not develop properly, leading to poor vision in that eye. It can often be corrected with glasses or an eye patch to strengthen the weaker eye. It is important to have a lazy eye assessed and managed as soon as possible with a critical age up to the age of 7 when improvements to vision may become limited.                                                                           

  3. Strabismus (crossed eyes): This is a condition where the eyes do not align properly, causing one eye to turn in or out. It can be corrected with glasses, eye patches, or surgery. The eye that turns may be lazy and need to be assessed as early as possible.

  4. Conjunctivitis (pink eye): This is an infection of the conjunctiva (the thin, clear membrane that covers the white part of the eye) that causes redness, itching, and discharge. It is highly contagious and may be treated with antibiotics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is important for parents to monitor their child’s eye health and bring them in for regular eye exams, as early detection and treatment can help prevent more serious issues later in life