Baby Your Baby- Children's Eye Health: Common Conditions and When to See a Pediatrician

August is Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month. There are common eye conditions that can occur in babies and young children that parents need to watch for. Back-to-school and regular well-child checkups are important, because your pediatrician does a lot of screenings that can help detect a variety of medical conditions early in childhood, including those that affect the eye or a child’s vision.

Blocked tear duct

“One of the most common eye conditions in newborns is a blocked tear duct. This might be happening if a baby’s eye seems to have persistent tearing or discharge. This may occur because a baby’s tear duct may not have fully formed,” said Brett Ipson, MD, a pediatrician with Intermountain Layton Parkway Northern Utah Pediatrics.

If you notice these symptoms, call your pediatrician’s office. There’s a possibility of an infection. If not, treatment may simply be learning to safely and gently massage the tear duct and monitor it. Or if it is a severe or chronic blockage, a procedure may be recommended.

Pink eye or conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis is a reddening of the white part of the eye, usually due to infections, allergies, or irritation. It is commonly known as pink eye. Signs include tearing, discharge and feeling that there's something in the eye. Call your pediatrician if you notice these symptoms.

“Pink eye can happen in infants, children or adults. In newborns, common causes include gonorrhea and chlamydia. An antibiotic eye ointment, erythromycin is given routinely to newborns after childbirth, to prevent these eye infections. But pink eye is contagious, and a baby or child can get it from older children or adults,” said Dr. Ipson.

Frequent hand washing can limit the spread of eye infections to other family members and classmates. Depending on its cause, pinkeye is often treated with eye drops or ointment.

Vision screening

According to Dr. Ipson, babies as young as a few months old may need glasses to help correct lazy eye (amblyopia) or crossed eyes (strabismus). Early screening and intervention can prevent vision loss.

In the past it has been difficult to do vision screening on a young baby or toddler because visual acuity tests required the child be able to recognizes shapes or a letter, hold still, and tolerate one eye being covered.

“Over the past decade, new technology has developed vision screening tools that can be used on children as young as 18 months old,” said Dr. Ipson.

Gocheckkids.com is a vision screening tool that is portable, kid-friendly and done with a smart phone hooked to a camera and an app that reflects light. It can detect risk factors for vision impairment such as myopia or nearsightedness quickly and easily.

“This early vision screening tool is used routinely at Intermountain pediatrics locations at every well check for children ages 18 months up to about four years,” said Dr. Ipson.

At least one study reported photo screening detected clinically significant eye problems in up to 2.5% of kids that may otherwise have been missed until a later age. Healthy vision contributes to children’s school readiness, ability to learn, overall healthy development, and ability to reach motor developmental milestones. If your pediatrician doesn’t offer such a test, ask them if they offer this type of screening.

Signs your child may need glasses

“If you notice your child is squinting, coming home from school with headaches, falling behind in school, reading difficulties and distractibility, these could be signs they may need glasses. Call your pediatrician for a vision screening or see an eye doctor,” said Dr. Ipson.

“Young children’s vision can change during the early years and typically improves for a few years until about age six,” he added.

Normal vision for children by age:

• Age 3 20/50
• Age 4 20/40
• Age 5+20/30

To find a pediatrician go to the pediatrics page atintermountainhealth.org