Pediatrics
A pediatric ophthalmologist is trained in different methods of examination which make children feel more relaxed and at ease during the exam process.
Your pediatrician usually checks your child’s eyes during his or her first year of life. Should your pediatrician or family doctor detect an eye problem, they may refer your child to a pediatric ophthalmologist for a more detailed assessment.
Many problems with children’s eyes have the best results when treated early in a patient’s life. If your child is having a problem which may be related to their eyes, an exam of the child’s eyes is extremely important. School eye screenings may also detect a problem, which requires further evaluation.
The following is a list of some signs and symptoms of pediatric eye problems:
- Any difference in size, shape or color of any part of the eye or eyelids
- Eyes that wander, shake or vibrate
- Eyes that do not appear to look in the same direction
- Child not looking at mother by three months of age
- Redness of the eye
- Discharge from the eyes
- Droopy eyelids
- Pain in or around the eye
- Eyes tearing or wet-looking, when not crying
- Any swelling or lump in or around the eye
- Child covers one eye to look at things
- Squints or squeezes eyes nearly closed to see
- Child tilts or turns head when looking intently
Amblyopia
Amblyopia (lazy eye) occurs when the brain learns to ignore the messages being sent by an eye. If not treated at an early age, the vision loss will be permanent. The treatment varies from patient to patient depending on an individual’s eyes. The treatment required may be glasses, patching the stronger eye to force the patient to use the weaker eye, and/or eye drops. When the eyes aren’t straight, surgery may also be required. If surgery is indicated, it is almost always done as an out-patient procedure. For best results, it is important that amblyopia is treated at an early age.
Strabismus
Strabismus is when a person’s eyes don’t point in the same direction. The eyes may turn in (esotropia), out (exotropia) or up or down (hypertropia).
There are different treatments for strabismus which are determined from the findings of the eye examination.
These treatments include glasses, patching the stronger eye to force the patient to use the weaker eye,
eye drops or surgery. Quite often more than one therapy may be needed. In those cases when surgery
may be required, it is almost always performed as an out-patient procedure. The type of therapy
needed is determined by the characteristics of the patient’s eyes.
