Roughly 20% of children under the age of 18 develop an eye condition. That’s why it’s so important to have your child’s eyes checked annually. With a proper diagnosis, an eye doctor has the opportunity to provide a treatment that yields excellent results.

Early Detection and Treatment

The sooner an eye doctor diagnoses a problem and offers the right treatment, the better. That significantly helps reduce the risk of permanent damage. Here are the most common eye conditions that doctors see and the signs to look for in your child.

Refractive Errors

These include myopia or nearsightedness, hyperopia or farsightedness, and astigmatism, which means the cornea is irregularly curved. In one way or another, they all cause blurriness. For that reason, you might notice that your child squints when reading or watching television. Other signs include headaches, eye strain, and tilting the head. Your child might also hold books close to the face or sit close to the computer screen or TV.

Amblyopia

Commonly referred to as “lazy eye,” this happens when one eye is weaker than the other eye. As a result, your child would have a hard time seeing normally. Often, kids learn to use the eye that’s not impacted, which can make this hard to diagnose. However, you can watch for telltale signs. Those include having trouble playing sports, reading, or doing math. Your child could also struggle to focus and concentrate. Squinting, rubbing the eye, closing just one eye, and tilting the head are also signs of amblyopia.

Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD)

In this case, your child’s eyes wouldn’t work together as they should. That’s due to a misalignment. This, too, is sometimes tricky to diagnose. So, look for any of these signs. They include dizziness, fatigue, headaches, sensitivity to light, anxiety, and double vision. Also, motion sickness and stress are common symptoms of BVD.

Convergence Insufficiency

This type of binocular vision condition affects the eye’s muscle coordination. At the same time, it affects near vision. Here are the things to pay attention to: fatigue, especially while reading, headaches, double vision, blurriness, motion sickness, and trouble concentrating. With this condition, you may find your child trying to avoid doing homework or reading below their current grade.

Strabismus

In simple terms, this involves crossed or squinted eyes. Simply put, the eyes don’t align. This eye condition also has to do with the muscles not working together as they should. Not only can the eyes turn inward or outward, but strabismus can occur intermittently or constantly. Considering this won’t go away by itself, your child will need the proper treatment. That includes glasses, medication, and sometimes, surgery.

Chalazion

This consists of slight swelling of the eyelid. Don’t feel bad if you mistake this for a stye. A lot of parents do initially. However, due to a blocked gland, your child’s eyelid would swell and become red. You might even see a pus-like discharge. Over time, it can turn into hard lumps. If they’re large or in the wrong position, they could impact your child’s vision.

Nystagmus

With this acquired or congenital condition, you would notice your child’s eyes involuntarily and quickly darting back and forth. When newborns have this, it’s classified as congenital, whereas after six months, it’s acquired. Along with rapid back-and-forth eye movement, you might notice them moving up and down or even in a circle.

Pediatric Cataracts

Roughly 20,000 to 40,000 children have cataracts at birth. Just as with adults, this consists of a film over the eyes that compromises vision. For this, you’d need to watch for a gray or white pupil. Also, your child might have a hard time seeing objects or recognizing faces. In addition, their eyes could point in different directions.

For regular checkups, as well as concerns regarding your child’s eyes, contact the Cincinnati Vision Group in Liberty Township or Cincinnati, Ohio. You can call us at 513-712-5065, 513-793-5970, or 513-753-4981.