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What is pediatric ophthalmology?
This specialty deals with vision disorders that take place from birth to adolescence. Child development is directly related to visual development. Therefore, ophthalmological alterations can lead to a learning delay in childhood.
Visual development begins at birth and ends between 6 and 8 years of age. For it to be carried out correctly, it is essential that there is no ophthalmological alteration during this period. Thus, in order to achieve correct visual capacity, both in quantity (visual acuity) and in quality (binocular vision/stereopsis), an early diagnosis of any eye disease is necessary in order to establish the best possible treatment early.
A late diagnosis can cause a lifelong defect.
The most frequent alterations are:
- Refractive errors (farsightedness, myopia, astigmatism)
- Strabismus (ocular deviation)
- Amblyopia (lazy eye)
There are serious, rare pathologies that we must take into account:
- Congenital cataracts
- Congenital glaucoma
- Retinoblastoma (tumor of the retina), retinal lesions
- Eyelid ptosis
- Corneal lesions
For all this reasons, ophthalmological controls are recommended and it is up to the pediatric ophthalmologist to carry them out. There is no minimum age that a child can be explored. Appropriate means of examination are used at each age.
Other very common diseases in childhood do not cause developmental alterations, but correct diagnosis and treatment are no less important for this:
- Congenital lacrimal obstruction
- Allergic conjunctivitis
- Styes
First visit to the ophthalmologist
We can explore children at all ages, from the moment of birth. If you have any doubts, the ophthalmologist should be consulted, never wait until the child is older.
If no alterations are observed, ophthalmological check-ups should begin between 2 and 3 years of age, regardless of whether or not there is a family history, and should be performed every year.
The child is changing with growth and so is his visual system.
Refractive errors
In the normal eye, the images look sharp because they are projected onto the retina, but this cannot be if the eye is not the correct shape or size, this happens if the patient has a refractive error.
Refractive errors are of three types: hyperopia, myopia and astigmatism.
- Hyperopia (farsightedness): difficulty seeing objects that are close to us
- Myopia: difficulty or inability to see objects that are far away
- Astigmatism: images look distorted.
Astigmatism can occur alone or associated with farsightedness or myopia.
