World Sight Day: Early Signs Of Vision Problems In Children And Corrective Measures

Childhood blindness is a major public health concern all over the world. The prevalence of such blindness in India is estimated to be around 0.5/1,000, with at least 2,10,000 children suffering from severe visual impairment or blindness.

Blindness in children affects their opportunities for education, employment, and earning potential. Early onset of blindness in children has a negative impact on their social, and emotional development.

According to National Center for Biotechnology Information, an estimated 5,00,000 children go blind each year. Almost half of all blindness in children, particularly in the poorest communities, are caused by avoidable causes which can be prevented with the effective eye care facilities, early screening, and cost-effective interventions.

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Pediatric eye care requires a strong connection between all levels of eye care. It is critical to develop good referral services for refractive errors in children, retinopathy of prematurity, cerebral visual impairment, congenital and developmental cataract, strabismus, glaucoma, and ocular oncology problems in children.

Furthermore, there are several warning signs that parents and caregivers should be aware of and bring to the attention of the child's pediatrician or Pediatric ophthalmologist. The earlier a diagnosis is made, the better the chances of successful treatment.

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Signs of Vision problem

It is important for parents to note these visual behaviors in infants and report to a pediatric ophthalmologist urgently .

1. No eye contact from birth till 8 weeks ,

2. No social smile and awareness of hands at 3 to 4 months of age

3. Eyes don¡¯t follow or track an object moved from side to side or in front of his face

4. Squinting of eyes at 4 to 5 months

5. White or hazy cornea or one eye is larger than the other or sensitivity to light which is a sign of glaucoma and needs urgent surgical intervention

6. White spot or white reflex in centre of eye ¡­ this maybe congenital cataract and rwuqires urgent surgical intervention before 6 weeks of sge for vision development

It is critical to identify the issues that could be related to the child's vision. Most eye conditions that are detected early have a better chance of being successfully treated.

Preventive measures

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There is a need to raise public awareness about ways to protect children from eye injuries and conditions that can lead to blindness. The first and foremost measure is to prevent the vision problems in children by regular eye screening, consultation with the pediatric eye specialist and a quality eye care facility to address and treat the condition.

Other preventive measure includes:

1. A vision screening is essential to detect the eye condition early. Numerous types of vision screenings are done depending on the child's age. If a child fails it, they are recommended to visit an eye specialist. For e.g., Vision Screening for Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is performed in all preterm birth babies who are born < 34 weeks gestation and/or < 1750 grams birth weight; also, in babies 34-366/7 weeks gestation or 1750-2000 grams birth weight if they have risk factors for ROP

2. A diet rich in nutrients such as zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin E, such as leafy vegetables, fish, and citrus fruits, should be consumed, all these components help in reducing the risk of eye health problems

3. It is important to reduce the screen time of children either its TV, computer, or mobiles

4. It is recommended that children be exposed to approximately 2 hours of daylight per day to prevent myopia

Early intervention is key to treatment of child vision eye problems.

About the author: Dr. Suma Ganesh is the Head of Paediatric ophthalmology and Strabismus at Dr Shroff¡¯s Charity Eye Hospital, Delhi. All views/opinions expressed in the article are of the author.