Rising vision problems among pre-schoolers

Charu Chhibber

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 25

Little Riaan’s left eye was turning inward and getting stuck, and the condition was worsening with each passing day.

His parents suspected their 18-month-old might have lazy eye, so they took him to a doctor, who discovered that Riaan was farsighted. His eyes worked so hard to see things that were close up that the right eye, the one with worse vision, got fatigued and wandered. So, Riaan has started wearing toddler glasses.

“An increasing number of younger children — preschool age and even babies less than a year old — are being diagnosed with vision problems and need glasses,” says Dr Jaspreet Sukhija, paediatric ophthalmologist, Advanced Eye Centre (AEC), PGI.

Every month, the AEC sees nearly 1,000 children with various eye problems. According to him, there is an urgent need to create awareness among parents of young children to get their vision screened by a specialist if there an evident problem.

He says early diagnoses of vision problems in children results in effective treatment. “Treatment gets difficult as age progresses,” he says, adding that basic vision screenings, like those done at standard paediatrician visits, don’t give a thorough enough picture of the eye health and functioning.

There is no set rule for prescription of glasses for children; therefore, it is important to see a specialist. “Very young children can’t verbally express eyesight struggle well, but parents can look for symptoms. These include things like frequent rubbing or blinking, squinting and having misaligned eyes,” says Dr Sukhija.

He warns that if not addressed in time, vision problems can affect the overall development of children as vision is the primary sense used in learning.

Common eye problems among children

• Amblyopia: Known as lazy eye. Reduced vision from lack of use in an otherwise normal eye
• Hyperopia: Known as farsightedness. Objects that are near are unclear
• Myopia: Known as nearsightedness, it is the most common vision problem among schoolchildren. Objects that are far away are unclear
• Pseudostrabismus: Appearance of crossed eyes, yet the eyes are truly straight
• Ptosis: Known as droopy eyelids. The eyelids do not open as they should
• Strabismus: Misaligned eye(s) that either turn inward (crossed eyes) or outward

Warning signs in pre-schoolers

• Eyes turning inward (crossing) or outward
• Frequent rubbing or blinking
• Squinting
• Headaches
• Tending to rub eyes
• Turning or tilting the head to use one eye only
• Having misaligned eyes

Early detection crucial

Optimum treatment for eye conditions such as lazy eye, crossed eyes or eyes that turn outward require early detection, usually well before age six, otherwise irreversible visual deficits may occur.