Common eye conditions 

Common, important, eye problems.

Amblyopia

 This is when vision in one eye (rarely both) is reduced because something has interrupted the normal process of visual development. Due to the way our brain develops, the poor vision may become permanent if no treatment is attempted early in life.

Glasses are often the 1st step, to give the weak eye a clear pictre to work with. If the vision remains poor the child's brain has to be taught how to 'see' normally from that eye again. This can be achieved in almost all children with either patching or drops in the good eye. When the circuits in the brain are made to use the picture from the weak eye they are able to develop again. Treatment is successful (normal vision) in over 80% of cases, and almost always improves the vision to some degree.

Strabismus 

If one of your child's eyes appears to be out of line when the other is looking straight at you, then it is important to have this checked out as soon as possible.

If an eye turns inwards it is called an Esotropia.  If an eye is misdirected outwards it is called an Exotropia.  You may also see one eye drifting upwards, a difference in the height of the 2 eyes, or the patient may have to tilt their head or face in one direction to make vision comfortable. 

Refractive errors 

This means the eye is out of focus. While the focusing ability of children is much more adaptable and versatile than in adults, there are often instances when unequal  focus between each eye, or having both eyes very out of focus, will result in permanently poor vision unless treated with glasses. A refractive error may also dramatically increase the likelihood that the alignment of the two eyes will become abnormal (strabismus). Glasses may prevent or treat such a turning of the eyes.

Glasses 

Around 1 in 10 children may need glasses at some stage, most importantly for the above problems, and some children also benefit at times from  glasses to help their reading. Because the development of the vision part of a child's brain continues at least until age 8 glasses remain important to use until this time when a vision-threatening refractive error or strabismus is present.