En Nivaria Clinic we count one Pediatric Ophthalmology Unit with Ophthalmologist specialists in Childhood Visual Diseases. We take care of the correct visual development of children with advanced diagnoses and treatments, from the first months of life to adolescence. Pediatric ophthalmology is the specialized part of children's vision problems. Therefore, prevention and early detection of ocular pathologies in childhood is very important. The visual acuity of a child's eye improves from birth and changes as he or she grows. At 3 years old, their visual acuity reaches 50%, reaching 100% at 5 years old. For this reason, the first years of life, up to 7 or 8 years old, are crucial for correct visual development. During this period of development, it is common to detect anomalies that prevent normal visual development and anomalies that, if not detected in time, could cause irreversible consequences for life, since, for example, amblyopia or “lazy eye” after that age is common. very difficult handling.
In this context, At Clínica Nivaria our pediatric ophthalmologists are responsible for the detection of these disorders, who insist that the role of parents is fundamental when it comes to observing possible problems.
When should you go to a pediatric review?
If there are no suspicious signs (ocular deviations, alterations of the normal ocular appearance) it is from the 3-4 years is the appropriate time to start with the first pediatric ophthalmological consultation, even if the child's development arises normally. It is an age in which the boy or girl can already collaborate in a simple ophthalmological examination, as well as being an ideal time to detect future cases of amblyopia or lazy eye or refractive defects.
What are the most common diseases in ophthalmic pediatrics?
- “Lazy eye” or amblyopia. Amblyopia or “lazy eye” is one of the main causes of irrecoverable vision loss in developed countries. It must be detected as soon as possible for its correct management.
- Refractive defects. Refractive errors that can appear from childhood are myopia, astigmatism and hyperopia. They cause unfocused vision, without sharpness. Early detection is very important because they can affect school performance and it must be taken into account that children may not express complaints about possible symptoms.
- Childhood strabismus. Childhood strabismus is the abnormal deviation of one or both eyes in all or some of the gaze positions. When this occurs, the parallelism of the ocular axes is lost and this causes binocular vision to be altered (relief or “3D” vision). This lack of alignment means that both eyes cannot focus on the same point simultaneously. When this occurs in childhood, an adaptation phenomenon occurs by which the brain selects the best quality image and disconnects the vision of the other eye, thereby avoiding the double vision that would appear as a consequence of not being able to see exactly the same image with both eyes. same image.
What symptoms can a child present to alert his parents to go to an ophthalmologic check?
- Continuous tearing in one or both eyes.
- Frequent blemishes when getting up.
- The pupil must be black, if it is white (leukocoria) or not round, you should go to the ophthalmologist.
- Drooping of one or both upper eyelids (eyelid ptosis).
- Involuntary lateral “back and forth” eye movements (nystagmus).
- In addition, parents should observe if the child gets too close to the paper when reading or watching television, if he or she stares or rubs frequently, or if he or she has a lot of headaches.
