Your child's eyes are her windows to the world and tools that will aid in her rapid development. Help keep your child as healthy as possible by looking for signs of common eye problems. Regular vision screening and early detection and treatment of eye problems will help any child---even a child who is genetically predisposed to unhealthy eyes or vision---reach her greatest potential.
Strabismus
Strabismus is eye misalignment. Children with strabismus may have eyes that turn up, down, in or out, according to KidsHealth, a part of the Nemours Foundation. Some treatments for strabismus force the misaligned eye to work by covering the properly aligned eye with a patch or blurring the stronger eye's vision with drops, according to WhattoExpect.com. Other treatments are eyeglasses specially designed to align eyes, eye muscle exercises and surgical intervention.
Amblyopia
Amblyopia, also called lazy eye, is poor vision in an eye that otherwise seems normal. Two common causes of amblyopia are crossed eyes and eyes that have a difference between refractive errors, according to KidsHealth. The condition also commonly develops when a child's brain adapts to strabismus by ignoring the image from the weaker eye to prevent double vision, according to WhattoExpect.com. Treatments for amblyopia are like those for strabismus and your child will have the best outcome if he is treated during his preschool years, says KidsHealth.
Refractive Errors
Children will see blurry images if their eyes aren't shaped to precisely refract, or bend, light, according to KidsHealth. In some cases, refractive errors can cause eye strain or amblyopia. Nearsightedness, or myopia, the most common refractive error, is trouble seeing distant objects. Farsightedness, or hyperopia, is trouble seeing nearby objects. Astigmatism is blurred vision due to imperfect curvature at the front surface of the eye, according to KidsHealth. Most refractive errors in children are treated with corrective lenses such as eyeglasses.
Cataracts
Half of children who develop cataracts, or clouding of the eye's lens, develop them due to genetic predisposition, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Trauma, such as a blunt or penetrating injury, is the second most common cause of cataracts in children. Other causes are metabolic, infectious and inflammatory diseases, and the chronic use of medications such as steroids, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Some cataracts are so small that they don't cause visual trouble. However, cataracts that interfere with a child's vision will most likely be treated with surgery that replaces the clouded lens with an artificial, clear lens.
