IMPORTANCE OF CHILDREN'S EYE HEALTH CHECK

Early detection in the eyes of children is very important to know the condition of the eye anakapakah impaired vision or not. It is important to prevent the eyes do not let children experience vision problems and has reached a difficult stage to treat. In addition tophysicians, as our parents play an important role to help detecteye abnormalities in children with a way to understand the signsign

Development of the child's vision

Child's visual system develops very rapidly in the first 18 months,which then become perfect at age 5 or 6 years.

1. At birth, the baby can see patterns of light and dark, but the focus is still blurry. Baby world consists of "confined space" is no farther than about one meter. Infants will respond sighted peopleface, especially her mother, who stared at him from close range.
2. Between the ages of 4-6 months the baby will move his head,not only to follow moving objects, but also when looking at anotherobject.
3. At the age of 6-8 months babies eyesight should be steadyand straight. At this age your baby can see in full color, grabobjects, and his eyes have coordinated well controlled so that the eye movement began. Your baby will be able to obtain visualinformation with eye movements alone, so that head movementsfollow the body is reduced.
4. At 8-12 months your baby will use both eyes together to judgedistances and develop depth perception.
5. As the growth of children at ages 1-3 years old, hand-eye coordination will increase and the child begins to better understand the environment. At this stage, children begin toexplore their environment.

Eye health problems of children

There are a variety of eye problems that can befall a child at each stage of growth. Abnormalities of the eye at the age under one year are generally congenital / congenital.

1. Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a condition where the retina has not been perfect its development and only partially involved with the blood vessels so easily broken and detached, causing blindness. This condition is more common in babies born prematurely.
2. Gonococcal conjunctivitis infection in infants born vaginally to mothers exposed to gonorrhea.
3. Infantile cataract is cloudiness in the eyes of newborns.
4. Congenital glaucoma is congenital condition where the eye drainage channel is not formed properly before birth.
5. Abnormalities in a more advanced age due to developmental disorders or diseases. Here are some eye health problems that can befall a child:
6. Amblyopia (lazy eye) is the lack of visual acuity defects that can not be fully corrected with eyeglasses or contact lenses. Two common causes of amblyopia is a cross eye refraction and refractive difference between the two eyes. If left untreated, amblyopia can cause permanent vision loss in the affected eye.Amblyopia must be corrected in the pre-school age.
7. Strabismus (crossed eyes) is a visual defect in which the two eyes point leads to a different focus. One eye may lead to the right, left, upward, or downward, while the other eye fixed on the other. Strabismus causes the loss of stereoscopic depth perception. With early detection, strabismus can be corrected by closing your eyes focused properly so forcing the eyes are out of sync to work. Operations or special glasses can also help eye alignment.
8. Abnormalities of refraction so that the lens of the eye does not refract or reflect light properly, so images appear blurred.Nearsightedness, farsightedness and Astigmatism / cylindrical refractive error is the most common.
9. Retinoblastoma is a malignant tumor that usually appears within the first 3 years of life. The affected eye may lose visual and white pupils.

Signs of eye disorders

Rarely moving the eyes, do not turn a blind eye when in bright sunlight, or the lack of consistent response to the mother's face is a sign of a baby having vision problems in both eyes. Delaystages of vision, eye complaints, watery eyes, likes to squint /wink or a furrowed brow, and crossed eyes are another commonsign. Examination by an ophthalmologist who trained highlyrecommended if these signs are present.

Especially, watch out for the following developmental delay in your child:

1. In the first week after birth, the baby does not direct the view towards the light or vice versa, just avoid the light.
2. At the age of one to two months have not looked at his mother's face.
3. At the age of three to four months does not see his hands. He was not smiling at familiar faces.
4. At the age of six months does not capture the object to be brought into his mouth. He apparently did not distinguish the faces are familiar with strangers.
5. At the age of nine months do not react to sudden movements.He was not looking for objects that disappear from view.

In children of school age, the following signs may be present:

1. The inability to see objects from far away
2. The inability to read the blackboard
3. Frequent squinting
4. difficulty reading
5. Sitting too close to the TV

How to test your child's vision?

Try putting an interesting object in front of one eye and observehow your baby reacts to that object. Objects can face you or asmall toy, such as brightly colored dolls.

Reaction would indicate the presence and quality of vision in the eye being tested. In this case you should not use an object that reads, for example, a small bell, as it will be difficult to determinewhether the baby to see or hear the bells.

Once a toddler starts talking, she may be invited to participate in the testing process. The pictures or familiar objects, such as toys, dolls, and others can be used to test. Children are asked to identify the object shown. Each eye must be tested separately,with the other eye closed, because that's the best way to find outwhether there are differences in visual abilities.

As parents we must be sensitive when the child shows symptoms of a problem with the sight of his eyes and immediately to consultan ophthalmologist to find out and deal with problems in the eyesof children. As the key to success in the healing of the eye is early detection.