Routine checks for children begin in the newborn period and continue until the age of 18. Especially in the first month of the neonatal period, eye examination is essential to detect congenital cataracts, strabismus, glaucoma, eyelid anomalies, and to understand canal obstructions in the early period. The baby's 6th month and 1 year old check-up should be done by an ophthalmologist, and the baby's eye contact, eye movements, eye numbers, red reflex test and whether there is an anomaly in the eyelids should be evaluated. One of the main purposes of these examinations is to protect the baby from lazy vision. Others are to be able to recognize congenital cataracts, glaucoma, and lesions occupying space in the vitreous with early diagnosis and to intervene in time.
Eye Problems in Childhood
Many health problems are hereditary. There is a possibility that it may happen.
- Do the eyes sometimes become squinted? Is there any misalignment in the eyes?
- Does he say he can't see well, does he rub his eyes or blink too much?
- Does he return from school tired, have a headache or experience dizziness?
- Can't read for a long time, loses lines, reads the same word more than once?
- Does the instructor say that he/she mixes up the letters and cannot remember what he/she read?
Children with these complaints have eye problems. He/she needs to be taken to a doctor.
How is an eye examination performed in children?
What does an ophthalmologist do?
- Defects in the child's distant and near vision. measures. While doing this, it uses pictures in pre-school children and letters starting from the age of 6.
- Evaluates whether the child has a slip.
- Whether there is a problem that prevents vision (congenital cataract, congenital (such as eye pressure).
- Children may need to instill drops to dilate the pupil and take measurements again.
What should be taken into consideration during and after the examination with drops?
If your doctor deems it necessary, he may want to examine your child by applying drops. This is a form of examination performed to eliminate the adaptation process of some children, which we call accommodation, and to reach only their real numbers. Do not hurt your child while the drops are being administered.
Drop examinations of children with influenza and fever should be postponed until these conditions pass.
Lazy vision (amblyopia) What is it?
Amblyopia is a disorder that occurs as a result of the failure of the visual center in the brain to develop from an early age due to insufficient visual stimuli reaching it. If we summarize the causes of lazy vision under a few main headings:
1. Amblyopia caused by refractive error is the most common group. A high number in one eye causes blurred vision in that eye. Visual stimuli coming from two different eyes cause confusion in the visual center, and the brain prefers to perceive the clearer vision. This is not a conscious choice, it is actually just a way the brain uses to survive. However, the constant use of stimuli from the same eye within a developing and growing system causes one-sided stimulation of the visual system. As the visual center in the brain is stimulated, the networks between the neurons that provide vision will be triggered and vision will gradually begin to increase. Therefore, the visual center on the side that has a refractive error and cannot be stimulated by the blurred eye is left behind in development. This means that vision on the stimulated side gradually improves over time, but vision on the non-stimulated side fails to improve.
Lazy vision, which can be detected and treated at an early age, allows the perception of depth and three dimensions in vision. p>
2. Another reason is that the eye remains closed from the time the baby is first born. This can be thought of as not getting enough sunlight through a closed window. Closedness is most commonly seen in cases of congenital valve ptosis, which we call congenital ptosis. Less commonly, the same problem may occur in congenital or acquired valve masses located on the lid. Since the eyelid is droopy and the baby cannot lift the eyelid even if he wants to, that eye does not receive enough visual stimulation, and since the visual center in the brain cannot be stimulated enough, lazy vision may develop due to the reasons explained above. r. Therefore, ptosis should not be perceived only as an aesthetic problem. Babies should also be evaluated for amliopy (Lazy Vision).
3. Stribs is another cause of lazy vision. A child with strabismus usually cannot use his or her misaligned eye adequately, and preferentially uses his or her nonswaying eye to see. Since the neuronal networks in the visual center stimulated by the wandering eye cannot develop sufficiently, vision in that eye will remain limited. In strabismus, eye numbers (refraction errors), if any, are corrected and correct and sufficient vision signals are sent to the brain by the eyes. This simply means; A child who has undergone strabismus surgery, if he has a refractive error, may need to use glasses to ensure that his vision develops sufficiently and to prevent lazy vision, even after the eyes become parallel. Therefore, if the ophthalmologist recommends the use of glasses after strabismus surgery, the child should definitely be made to wear glasses. The family should not forget the glasses, saying that somehow the strabismus has resolved.
4. Other less common causes of amblyopia include congenital cataracts, scars on the cornea that prevent vision, and opacities on the visual axis. In cases where transparency on the visual axis is impaired, amblyopia may develop again because sufficient visual stimulus does not reach the visual cortex.
After being diagnosed with amblyopia, it is very important to examine your child as often as recommended by your doctor, so please stay in touch with your doctor. Lazy vision is a disease that can be treated more easily with the family's patience and support for the child.
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