Paediatric Ophthalmology

A paediatrician is a doctor who specializes in the care of young children, and a specialist who treats young kids with eye-related problems is called pediatric ophthalmologist. Subsequently, the respective medical field is called Paediatric Ophthalmology. The need for a special branch of ophthalmology for children arises due to the fact that their needs regarding eye care are different from that of adults. They are still growing and have not settled on any stage of development, their visual disorders are different and have evolving eye-to-brain coordination. All of these reasons demand an extra emphasis on their requirements.

It is crucial to be attentive to children’s eye care when their eye-brain connections are still developing and strengthening. Any problem at this stage has the potential of permanently hindering their future visual capabilities. Different disorders and anomalies can cause various types of problems including the need for prescription eyewear, change in dietary habits, to development of a Squint or misalignment of eyes. It is better to prevent all these problems before they mature into full-blown visual damage, or identify and tackle the symptoms early on. One easily noticeable symptom is when kids start to have difficulties in reading what is written on blackboards in school and sometimes even have trouble writing something in their notebooks. Overtly, it is easy to recognize a physical symptom such as misalignment of the eyes, a Squint in the eyes, drooping eyelids or any other physical deformity around the eyes that look like they affect the vision.

Here are some of the most widely recognized and common symptoms observed in children who experience difficulties related to eyes, vision and the functioning of their sensory system in regards to sight.