Paediatric Ophthalmology - Fernández-Vega Ophthalmological Institute
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PAEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGY

The success of the treatment of the various ophthalmological alterations present in the paediatric age group will always be conditioned by their early diagnosis.
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SOME COMPLAINTS

VISITS SCHEDULE

First months of life:

  • Disregard congenital diseases (cataract, corneal disorders, ocular hypertension, etc.)
  • Disregard tumour complaint (retinoblastoma).

From 1 – 3 years old:

  • Consultations for strabismus: the patient can twist one eye or both continuously or sporadically.
  • Consultations for lazy eye: the patient does not follow the images well when the good eye is occluded.

From 3 years old:

  • Visual acuity control (if the patient co-operates).
  • Studies of the ocular motor.

EVOLUTION OF THE VISUAL SYSTEM IN THE FIRST YEAR OF LIFE

  • In the first month of life: the baby closes his or her eyes with clarity.
  • 1-2 months: begins to follow some images in their closest visual field.
  • 2-3 months: follows images better and begins to recognise the face of people nearby (father, mother.)
  • From 4 months onwards: improves visual acuity and begins to have binocular vision with perception of reliefs.
  • From 6 months onwards: the visual system is more perfected and in most cases the eyes are centred most of the time.
  • Until one year old: progressive maturation of the visual system that allows the baby to walk and good visual acuity for everyday things.

HOW CAN I DETECT IF MY CHILD HAS A PROBLEM?

In the first months of life:

  • Check the colour of the pupil, which should be black.
  • Check if they close their eyes when light is shone on them.
  • Check if they can follow bright objects with their eyes.
  • Later roll a toy on a rug (without making a noise) and see if the child can follow it with his or her eyes.

From 1 – 2 years old:

  • Play pirates. Cover an eye and see how they defend themselves with just sight from the other. Do the same with the opposite eye. It is normal that they cannot calculate distances well, as they lose binocular vision. If the child systematically refuses to have one eye covered, the other may be a lazy eye.
  • Note if they deviate any of their eyes and if they correct it when you attract their attention. It can happen in normal cases if they are tired, sick or even angry.
  • From the age of 4: still not detecting anything, if there is a family history of an ophthalmological nature, make a first appointment.
  • From the age of 6: the first school test for visual acuity.