{"id":602,"date":"2019-08-19T14:50:19","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T14:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lensdirect.com\/blog\/?p=602"},"modified":"2023-11-09T15:18:07","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T15:18:07","slug":"warning-signs-your-child-might-have-a-vision-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/blog\/eye-health\/warning-signs-your-child-might-have-a-vision-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Warning Signs Your Child Might Have a Vision Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More than 80% of what is taught in school to children is presented visually, so it\u2019s important that <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">children\u2019s vision problems<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are detected and treated early before negative repercussions occur. For example, undetected <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">vision problems in children<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can lead to misdiagnosed attention, behavioral, or reading issues. Signs of potential vision problems can differ <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthychildren.org\/English\/health-issues\/conditions\/eyes\/Pages\/Warning-Signs-of-Vison-Problems-in-Children.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by age<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and also be broken down into <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.preventblindness.org\/signs-possible-eye-problems-children\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">physical traits, behavior, and what children say<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> when they start talking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Signs of Vision Problems by Age<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Ages 3 months to 1-Year-Old<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At around 3 months, babies should be able to follow or track an object (e.g. toy or ball) with their eyes as it moves across their field of vision. An inability to track and also not being able to hold steady eye contact are signs of vision problems in babies. While some infants have slightly misaligned eyes (crossed or one looks out), this should clear up by 4-6 months. Misaligned eyes in children can lead to amblyopia (lazy eye), a condition that needs to be treated to avoid more serious eye problems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>All Ages<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Extreme light sensitivity (e.g. indoor light, sunlight, or camera flashes)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poor visual tracking <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poor focusing<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chronically watery or red eyes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">White instead of dark pupils<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drooping eyelids<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Red-rimmed, crusted, or swollen eyelids<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Things Children with Vision Problems May Say or Do<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Certain things children say can indicate potential vision problems. For example, they may say: my eyes are itchy, burning, or feel scratchy. They can also say more obvious things, such as I can&#8217;t see very well, I\u2019m seeing double, or everything looks blurry. A little less obvious, children who complain about feeling dizzy, sick\/nauseous, or having a headache after doing close-up work likely have a vision problem. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Children of all ages can exhibit specific behaviors that suggest a vision problem, such as rubbing their eyes constantly, tilting the head or thrusting it forward, and blinking or squinting frequently. School-age children and some preschoolers may have trouble reading or other close-up work, in addition to losing their place in a book, even when using their fingers. Additional behaviors at school that imply vision problems include trouble reading the blackboard and receiving lower grades than expected. Closing or covering one eye to read or watch television is a possible sign of convergence insufficiency while holding objects close to one\u2019s eyes or consistently sitting close to the television is a possible sign of nearsightedness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Common Eye Problems in Children<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Amblyopia (lazy eye):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Although it looks normal, vision in one eye is reduced because it isn\u2019t working properly with the brain. If left untreated, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nei.nih.gov\/health\/amblyopia\/amblyopia_guide\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amblyopia<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can cause irreversible visual loss in the impacted eye. Ideally, it should be treated before a child is age 8, typically by covering the stronger eye with an eye patch for weeks to several months. Patching stimulates the weaker eye and parts of the brain involved in a vision to develop more completely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Strabismus:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Although it can cause amblyopia and treatment is similar, strabismus is a different condition related to misalignment of the eyes. They can be turned in, out, up, or down. When detected early, vision can be restored by patching the properly aligned eye, forcing the misaligned one to work. Surgery or specially designed glasses may be required to help the eyes align.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Refractive errors: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like adults, children can experience refractive errors that require eyeglasses or contact lenses. Nearsightedness (myopia) is a condition in which distant objects appear blurry, while close objects are sharp. Although it\u2019s rare in babies, myopia is becoming increasingly common in school-age children. Farsightedness (hyperopia) means you have difficulty seeing close objects, while distant objects are sharp.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s not uncommon for parents to miss more subtle signs of vision problems in their children. Eye problems often aren\u2019t diagnosed at the pediatrician\u2019s office, and school vision screenings can miss these issues as well. As such, experts advise that children should have their first eye exam at 6 months, again at age 3, and regular exams after starting school.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sources:<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutvision.com\/parents\/slideshow-warning-signs.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.allaboutvision.com\/parents\/slideshow-warning-signs.htm<\/span><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.preventblindness.org\/signs-possible-eye-problems-children\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.preventblindness.org\/signs-possible-eye-problems-children<\/span><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthychildren.org\/English\/health-issues\/conditions\/eyes\/Pages\/Warning-Signs-of-Vison-Problems-in-Children.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.healthychildren.org\/English\/health-issues\/conditions\/eyes\/Pages\/Warning-Signs-of-Vison-Problems-in-Children.aspx<\/span><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/kidshealth.org\/en\/parents\/vision.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/kidshealth.org\/en\/parents\/vision.html<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than 80% of what is taught in school to children is presented visually, so it\u2019s important that children\u2019s vision problems are detected and treated&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1134,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[27],"class_list":["post-602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eye-health"],"acf":[],"authors":[{"term_id":27,"user_id":2,"is_guest":0,"slug":"lensdirect","display_name":"LensDirect","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ebf8e13ae079af6256df77af8b1bf50ae9c21b25d4c5b703f7eac323824c0051?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","first_name":"Lens","last_name":"Direct","user_url":"https:\/\/www.lensdirect.com","job_title":"","description":"Lensdirect.com"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1135,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602\/revisions\/1135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}