Pediatric patients usually have healthy eyes that grow and develop from infancy into teenage years. Keeping eyes healthy from an early age is the best way to prevent the development of eye disease and ensure that vision problems do not interfere with normal physical development and education.
Children with vision problems often do not complain about trouble with their eyes and many exhibit no outward signs of impairment. It is important for children to get regular eye exams to detect vision problems early. At Tri-Century Eye Care, our team is available to screen and treat children older than 5 years for vision-related issues.
In addition, our Oculoplastic service is available to evaluate and treat kids of all ages for congenital eyelid and tearing issues, as well as eye and eye area trauma and other periocular issues.
Finally, our team of doctors is available to triage urgent eye related issues like pink eye, injuries, and other acute problems.
Amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, is a development disorder in which one eye has poor central vision and the other eye has normal central vision. It begins in early childhood, and if detected early, vision problems may be reduced.
The most common cause of amblyopia is a condition called strabismus in which the eyes are misaligned. The misaligned eye “turns off” to avoid double vision, and the child uses only the better eye. Another common cause is uncorrected refractive errors, where one eye is out of focus because it is more nearsighted, farsighted, or astigmatic than the other. The blurred eye essentially “turns off.”
Early diagnosis and treatment of amblyopia is critical to prevent vision loss. The earlier the treatment is started, the better the prognosis. The best time to correct amblyopia is during infancy or early childhood. If diagnosed later, treatment may take longer and be less effective.
Depending on the cause of amblyopia, treatment options may vary. Potential treatments include prescription glasses or contact lenses to correct refractive errors, patching the eye, and vision therapy. Patching the eye involves covering the good eye to force the child to use and strengthen the amblyopic eye. Left untreated, an amblyopic eye may never develop good vision and may even become functionally blind.
Strabismus, also known as crossed eyes, is when both eyes are looking in different directions. One eye may be looking forward while the other eye is looking inward, outward, upward, or downward. The cause of strabismus can often be unknown. In some cases, a person may be born with it, or it may be caused by a neurological problem with the part of the brain that controls the eye muscles.
It’s important to seek treatment for strabismus early to improve the likelihood of both eyes working together properly. If left untreated, it may worsen. Treatment options may vary but include eyeglasses or contact lenses, vision therapy, or eye muscle surgery.
While most eye doctors focus on the eye and vision, ophthalmic plastic surgeons focus on the area around the eye. Eyelid issues like droopy lids, styes, and chronic tearing problems often present since birth and eye socket related issues can all be evaluated and treated. Our Oculoplastic service offers a full range of treatments for any eyelid, tearing, and eye socket need.
