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Children with eye symptoms and diseases are treated in the Pediatric ophthalmology clinic. The mission of this clinic early detection and treatment of vision threatening disorders to prevent long-term visual disability.
Amblyopia : This is a common condition in which the visual function of one eye is underdeveloped, while vision for the other eye is normal. Rarely, it has been found to affect both eyes. It is a silent disease, because it is difficult for young children perceive less vision in one eye, if the other eye is normal. They prefer the better eye over the amblyopic one and even parents are often in the dark, unless there is a structural abnormality of the poor eye. However, amblyopia treatment is most likely to be successfully if initiated during infancy or early childhood. Proper understanding of the disorder by the caretakers and counseling form important aspects of the management.
Factors that prevent clear vision during infancy or childhood cause amblyopia. Main encountered causes are:
- Strabismus (misaligned eyes).
- Unequal refractive error.
- Obscuration of vision due to lid problems or opacities of the normally clear eye tissues such as corneal opacities and cataracts.
Once amblyopia is detected, the brain must be encouraged to process visual information from the affected eye.
This is most commonly accomplished by applying a patch over the child's good eye. If untreated, visual acuity in an amblyopic eye may be permanently reduced, leading to significant visual disability. The treatment of amblyopia has been most successful until pre-adolescent years.
Pediatric strabismus : In strabismus, the eyes are misaligned with each other, causing them to look in different directions and leading to visual function defects and absent or defective depth perception. It is an important cause of amblyopia in children, leading to significant visual handicap throughout life, if not properly treated. A common misconception that children will outgrow strabismus leads to neglect of this treatable condition. Treatment usually is in the form of glasses, eye drops, exercises, patching or eye muscle surgery.
Pediatric glaucoma : Children may suffer from developmental glaucomas or glaucoma secondary to other ocular disorders. Both forms are vision threatening and early diagnosis and treatment is essential. Symptoms such as cloudy, enlarged corneas; one eye larger than the other, light hyper-sensitivity and excessive tearing without discharge should prompt ophthalmic examination in a child. These children may be treated medically or surgically.
