Many children and newborn newborns suffer from various eye problems. The sooner these problems are detected and addressed, the better. Pediatric ophthalmology is concerned with children’s eye issues and their treatment.
Pediatric ophthalmology aids in the early diagnosis of vision-related disorders in children. Eye defects, if not treated before six months of birth, can leave a child blind for life. The reason for this is that the optic nerve is still developing during the first six months of life, and if eye disorders are not treated during this time, irreversible damage may occur.
Similarly, young children may have a range of vision problems without even realising it. This is why it is vital to incorporate pediatric ophthalmology in the curriculum.
What happens during your child’s eye exam?
Your youngster will begin with a series of eye exams to determine their eye health. Your child’s exam will most likely last many hours. Two or three of our doctors typically do the tests. During the first phase of testing, we will discover:
- How well your child perceives local and distant items If your child is unable to read, we can check his or her eyesight using screenings that may include pictures or shapes.
- Depth perception in your child
- How well your child’s eyes align and move together to monitor items (done by an orthoptist).
- Your child’s peripheral vision, also known as side vision.
- In the second part of the exam, we may:
- Put eye drops in your child’s eyes to dilate or widen the pupils.
- After around 30 minutes, an ophthalmologist will inspect the interior of the eyes through the widened pupils to see if there are any problems and to determine whether your child requires corrective lenses.
- Examine your child’s eyes using special lights and lenses to see if he or she needs glasses and to rule out any issues.
What Is the Role of a Pediatric Ophthalmologist?
Optometrists and ophthalmologists can both check children’s eyes, test their vision, and, if necessary, prescribe glasses or contacts. Optometrists are not medical doctors, however they can prescribe medication for some eye conditions. Ophthalmologists are trained to identify and treat all eye disorders and problems.
Young toddlers are typically unable to describe or respond to medical problems. Pediatric ophthalmologists that are experienced at treating children in a way that helps them feel at ease and comfortable. They use child-sized equipment and eye exams that are tailored to the child’s developmental stage.
Pediatric ophthalmologists must first attend medical school and then additional training in eye disorders to become ophthalmologists. They are then given more training in recognising and treating child eye disorders. The schooling process takes 13 years and consists of the following steps:
- Bachelor of Science in Medicine (four years)
- A one-year internship
- residency in ophthalmology (three years)
- fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology (at least one year)
Reasons to Consult a Pediatric Ophthalmologist
During routine checkups, your child’s paediatrician or family doctor will examine their vision. If they or you notice a concern with your child’s eyes, they may refer you to a pediatric ophthalmologist. The following symptoms indicate that a youngster may have an eye problem:
- Light sensitivity
- Crossed or straying eyes
- Redness or moist eyes, persistent pus or crust
- They frequently massage their eyes.
- They are squinting and tilting their heads to look.
- Doctors prescribe a comprehensive eye exam for
- Children born too soon
- Those born with a condition that increases their chances of having eye issues, such as Down syndrome
- Children who have a learning disability or a developmental delay
- Those with a history of childhood visual difficulties.
- Let’s stop it with pediatric ophthalmology!
- Comprehensive eye exams should be part of your child’s normal healthcare routine. While squinting and drooping eyelids are easily apparent, parents may have difficulty diagnosing problems such as lazy eye and refractive errors. Especially since most children do not inform their parents about the problem since they typically lack the ability to recognise that their visual skills have changed. It is thus the primary responsibility of parents to notice any changes in their children’s behavioural patterns, such as close-up TV viewing, straining excessively to read from a book, or suddenly performing poorly in school.
- If any of these sound familiar, it’s important to consult with a pediatric ophthalmologist about your child’s eye health.
Pediatric Ophthalmology – Preserving our children’s future eyesight
At Bharti Eye Foundation, pediatric ophthalmology is taken seriously, with skilled doctors and surgeons working around the clock to guarantee that our future generation’s vision is sufficiently protected. Children who squint or have sluggish eyes are first treated with prescription glasses and eye exercises. Dr. S Bharti’s hospital was one of the first to adopt eye yoga as a rehabilitation approach. It is recommended that parents of children born out of wedlock between relatives or with both parents wearing glasses due to refractive problems bring their children for an evaluation.
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