Items Tagged With strabismus
Written By: John Fuda
2007-04-24 04:05:13
Hi everyone. Every member of BabiesWithGlasses.org has the ability to create blog entries. This is the easiest way to contribute to the site... Just type in your thoughts, hit "save" and you're done! Selected blog entries will be turned into news articles and featured on the front page. Thanks again for supporting the site!
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Written By: John Fuda
2005-11-10 07:17:29
What is amblyopia?
By the BabyCenter editorial staff, from: http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/babyills/babyeyes/10890.html
Amblyopia (also called Lazy eye) develops when the brain shuts off or suppresses vision in one eye. This can happen if your baby's eyes are misaligned or if he can't see as well with one eye because of nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, or something that's blocking clear vision in that eye, like a cataract or a drooping eyelid. About 3 to 6 percent of children under the age of 6 develop amblyopia. Treatment is most successful before age 5 or 6, although recent research shows that even older children may recover their vision. If ignored, though, amblyopia can result in permanent vision loss.
How to recognize amblyopia
Identifying the problem isn't easy because children can get along fine using only one eye. The less-used eye may look perfectly normal, even though your baby isn't using it to see. Your child's doctor should routinely test for amblyopia (as well as strabismus) by checking the eyes independently and together. But pediatric ophthalmologist James Ruben, a member of the AAP section on ophthalmology, says it's also a good idea for you to occasionally test the vision in your child's eyes at home.
Testing for amblyopia at home.
Here's a simple way to get an idea of whether your baby's eyes are both pulling their weight:
While your baby is interested in an object ? a toy bear that you dance in front of him, for example ? cover one of his eyes (it helps to have a partner for this). See if he follows the object with his uncovered eye as you move it. Then cover the other eye and see if he follows the object just as well ? and as far.
It's a little tricky to test a baby, who may lose interest or become distracted before your informal test is over. But if one eye seems weaker, try testing it again another time ? maybe starting with the other eye first.
If your baby seems to be able to see better with one eye than the other, schedule an appointment with either your child's doctor for a vision screening test or an ophthalmologist, who can diagnose and treat the problem.
What can be done to treat amblyopia?
The first step is to address any underlying problem ? by correcting the astigmatism or nearsightedness with glasses or removing a cataract with surgery, for example. Once that's taken care of, the goal is to encourage your child's brain to connect with the weaker eye, eventually improving its ability to see.
Glasses don't help to improve this eye-brain connection. In fact, one sign of the condition is that your baby's vision is still worse in one eye when he's wearing the correct glasses. That's because glasses work to help the eye focus ? like a camera lens ? but if the brain isn't communicating well with that eye, there won't be a clear picture. Instead, your doctor will probably recommend covering your baby's stronger eye with a patch or using eyedrops once a day to blur the vision in that eye, either of which will force the brain to use the weaker eye. This process could take weeks, months, or even years.
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Written By: John Fuda
2005-11-10 07:13:53
What is strabismus?
By the BabyCenter editorial staff, from: http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/babyills/babyeyes/10890.html
If your baby's eyes seem to point in different directions or not focus on the same object, he may have strabismus ? a lack of coordination between the eyes. They may appear to be "crossed" or one may seem to drift inward, outward, or upward. Strabismus can be constant (meaning the eyes are always crossed or misaligned) or intermittent (meaning it happens now and then). If your baby has strabismus and it isn't treated, his brain could start ignoring the input from one of his eyes, eventually causing the vision in the ignored eye to deteriorate. This condition is known as Amblyopia or "Lazy eye" (see below). Depth perception could also be damaged.
What causes it?
Sometimes strabismus is present at birth. The condition seems to run in families, but can also show up in children with no family history ? and when that's the case, it sometimes indicates a more significant vision problem. Those who are farsighted also seem to be at higher risk.
What can be done to treat strabismus?
Strabismus that's a result of farsightedness can usually be corrected with glasses, especially if caught early. Strabismus that persists even when a child wears glasses may require surgical correction. While the lack of coordination between the eyes centers in the brain, it's not possible to operate on the brain to change the alignment of the eyes. Instead, doctors operate on the eye muscles, which are accessible. That's one reason that the surgery isn't 100 percent successful.
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Written By: John Fuda
2005-11-10 07:08:48
By Glen Steele, optometrist, from: http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/expert/preschooler/phealth/pvision/70165.html
What should I do if my baby looks cross-eyed or his eyes seem to wander?
It's normal for your baby's eyes to wander or cross now and then during the first month or so of life. A newborn is just getting the hang of making his eyes work together. But if you notice that your baby's eyes seem crossed or misaligned all the time, or if they seem to wander after the first couple of months, the problem could be strabismus misaligned eyes) or Amblyopia (Lazy eye). Talk to his doctor, who will probably refer you to an ophthalmologist. Fortunately, these conditions can be successfully treated if detected early.
Glen Steele O.D., is a clinical professor and chief of the pediatric and Vision Therapy service at the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee. In his private practice he primarily treats infants and young children. He is a past president of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development and the current president of the Optometric Extension Program Foundation, as well as a member of the pediatric and binocular vision committee of the American Optometric Association. Dr. Steele was selected as Tennessee's Optometrist of the Year in 1999 and was selected one of Optometric Management's Top Ten Optometrists of the Decade in 1999. He is the chair of Operation Bright Start in Tennessee, a program to emphasize the need for eye and vision care in infants.
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Written By: John Fuda
2007-06-04 03:52:05
InfantSEE assessment offers early detection of potential eye and vision problems as a complement to the eye screening conducted in a pediatric well-care visit. A comprehensive assessment between the ages of 6 months and 12 months is recommended to determine healthy development of vision. Risk factors for many eye conditions, including Amblyopia (often referred to as Lazy eye), muscle imbalances, and some ocular diseases, have no signs or symptoms and may not be detected in a well-baby check-up. Such pediatrician visits include care and services performed by all personnel and last an average of 22.1 minutes, which is ample time for screening and detecting potential large-scope health problems. However, significant risk factors for eye and vision disorders are not detectable by base-level infant eye screening, and even early retinoblastoma, the seventh most common pediatric cancer, is detected more than 80 percent of the time outside the doctor’s office by a family member or friend.How an InfantSEE Assessment Is Conducted
During the assessment, parents might hold the baby on their laps or on a lap pillow and might also assist by holding targets or toys to hold the baby’s attention. Optometrists will gauge the babies’ comfort levels with specific techniques and adjust them as necessary, but will typically evaluate
visual acuity, refraction, motility, alignment, binocularity and overall eye health. As detailed below, these tests will determine signs of strabismus, amblyopia or diseases of the eye.- Visual Acuity/Refractive Status – Assessments for visual acuity and refraction are largely intended to measure for nearsightedness or farsightedness – common risk factors for amblyopia, which develops when an otherwise healthy eye has not received adequate use during early childhood. Nearsightedness or farsightedness in an infant’s developing eye can cause the brain to favor seeing through one eye, suppressing vision in the other eye, which can lead to permanent vision impairment. Because the traditional eye chart with letters or symbols cannot be used with infants, assessment of visual acuity may include tests to ensure that the infant can fix his eyes on an object and follow it. Tools such as gray cards with various sized stripes or pictures may be used to determine at which objects the baby prefers to look, and at what distances. The doctor may also use lenses and light from a small hand-held instrument to assess how the eye responds to particular targets. Some doctors use photographic testing to analyze the pupil reflex in the photo. In many cases, the infant may have some degree of refractive condition not requiring intervention.
- Ocular Motility/Alignment/Binocular Potential – Assessments for motility, alignment and binocularity can determine the presence of strabismus, which occurs when one eye does not aim at the same object as the other eye. Strabismus can lead to amblyopia, if undetected, or may indicate a number of ocular diseases. These assessments also measure eye coordination, which is the ability of both eyes to work together as a team to create one three-dimensional image in the brain. Good eye coordination, a skill that is not innate and must be developed, keeps the eyes in alignment. Later in life, poor eye coordination can make reading for extended periods of time difficult and may result in avoidance of detail work, such as writing or art work, poor reading comprehension and clumsiness. Using very simple instruments, such as penlights, finger puppets or toys, the optometrist tests the eye’s ability to move by getting the baby’s attention and observing how the baby follows the movements of the object. By shining a penlight toward the baby’s eyes, the doctor can gauge eye alignment, which is straight if the light is reflected in the center of both eyes. The optometrist can also assess a baby’s depth perception by using red/green glasses (commonly known as 3-D glasses), and displaying 3-D pictures. To a baby with good eye coordination, the pictures will appear in 3-D, and the infant will then reach to touch the picture.
- Overall Eye Health – The optometrist will assess the eye’s external structure as well as eyelids, tear ducts and other parts of the eye. Often, the optometrist can detect existing allergies from an external assessment. Pupil function is then checked, followed by an examination of the inner eye through dilated pupils, which can also detect ocular diseases such as retinoblastoma, the seventh most common pediatric cancer.
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