An ophthalmological screening test done in time is very important from the viewpoint of the healthy development of the child. If the parent notices from the reaction and the movement of the sibling, or the child complains about having trouble seeing the board clearly, then in these cases the parents definitely will have to take their child to a children’s ophthalmology specialist. Those eye diseases which are diagnosed in time may be effectively treated.
The ophthalmology screening test may be done already when the child is nine months old, but the eye clinics are usually full before the start of the school, the parents take their children to ophthalmology at this time of the year. The most frequent problem which arises in childhood is amblyopia, however with a regular screening test the number of children suffering from this disease may be significantly reduced.
The healthy pupils are of the same size, and glittery black. Those pupils which differ from this, for example whitish-grayish cloudy or blotchy need to be shown to a specialist immediately. If the eye lens is not clear, then technically we are talking about a cataract. With a surgery this problem may be fixed, the cloudy lens is substituted by a clear artificial lens. This is now a routine treatment, after which the way of the light into the eye will be clear once again.
The other very frequent childhood disease is astigmatism; this is why if there are several family members who wear glasses, then is advisable to have an ophthalmology screening test done when the child is one and a half years old. Astigmatism may be spotted already when the baby is a few weeks old, with due attention the parents may also notice if the baby’s eyes are not collateral and the light spots are not positioned symmetrically which fall on the cornea. If the children ophthalmology specialist diagnoses that the cross-eyedness is caused by refraction glitch, then with the help of glasses the specialist will try and make the eyes collateral. In case of small children, when it is not safe to wear glasses, at first the problem is tried to be solved by a bandage placed over one eye. If curing with glasses does not produce any results and the astigmatism henceforward remains, then later an operation may be done.
Nowadays more and more can be heard about such cases when the tear duct becomes blocked in children. In such cases the tear duct is tried to be opened by massaging – several times a day – above the tear passage: from the interior canthus downwards the side of the nose the excretion defecates from the tear passage into the nose. If massaging does not produce any results, and the tear duct gets blocked once again then there is a need to look up a children’s ophthalmologist. In this case the tear duct leaching will take place; however it is advisable to wait until the baby is at least eight weeks old, since if the treatment takes place before that age, then there is a higher chance that the opened duct will grow narrow and weld.
Color-blindness may also be discovered at the children’s ophthalmology clinic. When the child is six-eight years old, when he/she can communicate well, can already solve particular problems and is able to recognize numbers then a specialist can make a confident diagnosis.
Children’s ophthalmology specialists are often looked up with allergic complaints. The most frequent cause of the constant eye itching and dryness is allergic pollen buds, this is why face washing with cold water is recommended, while the dryness can be ameliorated with artificial tear drops which can be obtained in a pharmacy without any receipt. If the complaint do not cease with home treatment, then in this case the patient should turn to an oculist, which can prescribe anti-allergic tear drops which can be used for a long period of time. The pollen allergic complaint cease as the winter approaches, thus there no longer will there be a need for daily tear drop instillation.
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