Signs of Poor Vision |
Vision Screenings and
Examinations | Eye Safety At Home
Common
Childhood Eye Sight Problems
Without good vision, a child's ability to learn about the world becomes more difficult. Vision problems affect one in 20 preschoolers and one in four school-age children. Since many vision problems begin at an early age, it is very important that children receive proper eye care. Untreated eye problems can worsen and lead to other serious problems as well as affect learning ability, personality and adjustment in school.
| Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) |
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Amblyopia is poor vision in an eye that did not develop normal sight during early childhood. Amblyopia affects approximately 2 or 3 out of every 100 children in the United States. Amblyopia is caused by any condition that affects normal use of the eyes and visual development. Three major causes of amblyopia are strabismus (misaligned or crossed eyes), unequal focus (refractive error-nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism) or cataracts (cloudiness in the normally clear eye tissue). Untreated amblyopia may lead to functional blindness in the affected eye. Although the amblyopic eye has the capability to see, the brain "turns off" this eye because vision is very blurred. The brain elects to see only with the stronger eye.
Children with amblyopia can be treated with patching one eye, atropine eye drops, the correct prescription for nearsightedness or farsightedness or surgery.
In many cases, the conditions associated with amblyopia may be inherited. Therefore it is important for children with a family history of amblyopia or any of the causes to have a thorough eye examination by an ophthalmologist early in life.
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Strabismus (Crossed Eyes, Wall Eye, Wandering Eye,
Esotropia,
Exotropia, Hyperphoria) |
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Strabismus affects approximately 4 out of every 100 children in the United States. It is a visual defect in which the two eyes point in different directions. One eye may turn either in, out, up or down while the other eye aims straight ahead. When one eye turns, two different pictures are sent to the brain. In a young child, the brain learns to ignore the image of the misaligned eyes and sees only the image from the straight or better-seeing eye. The child then loses depth perception.
Adults who develop strabismus often have double vision because the brain is already trained to receive images from both eyes and cannot ignore the image from the turned eye.
In most cases, eyes that are not aligned can be straightened, even in adulthood.
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| Cataracts |
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A cataract is the progressive clouding of the normally clear lens inside the eye. The vision through a cataract is similar to a window that is frosted or coated with steam.
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| Color Deficiency (Color Blindness) |
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Children with color blindness are not really blind to color. Instead, they have trouble identifying some colors.
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| Conjunctivitis |
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Conjunctivitis, or pink eye, is an inflammation of the conjunctiva, the clear mucous membrane that covers the white part of the eyeball and the inside of the eyelid. It is the most common eye infection in the United States. Cases may vary from a mild redness with watery eyes to serious infections where vision is impaired or even lost.
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| Refractive Errors |
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Refractive errors cause decreased vision, visual discomfort ("eye strain"), and/or
amblyopia. The most common form, nearsightedness (poor distance vision) is usually seen in school-age children and is treated effectively, in most cases, with glasses. Farsightedness can cause problems with focusing at near and may be treated with glasses. Astigmatism (imperfect curvature of the front surfaces of the eye) also requires corrective lenses if it produces blurred vision or discomfort. Uncorrected refractive errors can cause amblyopia particularly if they are severe or are different between the two eyes.
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| Retinopathy of Prematurity |
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Soon after birth, some premature infants develop changes in the blood vessels of the eye's retina that can permanently impair vision.
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| Myopia (Nearsightedness) |
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In myopia, the eyeball is too long for the normal focusing power of the eye. As a result, images of distant objects appear blurred.
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| Hyperopia (Farsightedness) |
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In this condition, the eyeball is too short for the normal focusing power of the eye. In children, the lens in the eye accommodates for this error and provides clear vision for distance and usually near viewing, but with considerable effort that often causes fatigue and sometimes crossed eyes (strabismus).
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| Astigmatism |
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Astigmatism results primarily from an irregular shape of the front surface of the cornea, the transparent "window" at the front of the eye. Persons with astigmatism typically see vertical lines more clearly than horizontal ones, and sometimes the
reverse.
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