Pediatric Eye Care

Pediatric Eye Examinations

The physicians at Marietta Eye Clinic focus on pediatric eye care, diagnosing and treating children’s diseases and disorders. Eye care for children is different than adults because children’s eyesight develops rapidly in the first months and years of life. It is recommended that children receive their first eye exam by the age of 3 because most developmental eye problems must be diagnosed and treated before the age of 5 to have a chance of fully recovering.

If you start to see signs of crossed eyes or slow eyesight development it is important to schedule an eye examination for your child. The physicians at Marietta Eye Clinic will administer a complete pediatric eye exam to determine if there are any vision problems that need to be addressed.

Services covered for pediatric ophthalmology and adult strabismus include:

1. Failed school and pediatrician vision screens.
2. Observation of child's eye misalignment or movement disorder. (ie. crossing, walleye, wandering, drifting up or out, etc...)
3. Child complaining of vision or pain.
4. Eye rubbing or redness/discharge.
5. Family history of childhood eye problems.
6. Adult misalignment or movement disorder (ie. crossing, turned out, etc...)
7. Double vision.

Common pediatric eye conditions include:

Strabismus

Strabismus is the eye muscle coordination issue that develops from the extraocular muscle, or the brain disorder. It occurs when eyes do not align with one another while focusing on the same point. It may appear that each eye is looking in a different direction, which is why it can be called wandering eyes, or crossed eyes. One eye may look straight ahead while the other eye may be turned downward, inward, or outward. Strabismus prevents patients from being able to have binocular vision resulting in poor depth perception or double vision.

The brain controls the muscles needed to align both eyes correctly. That is why strabismus is more common in children with certain disorders that affect the brain, such as premature babies, or disabilities like cerebral palsy.

Treatment of Strabismus

Strabismus may benefit from treatment by glasses or surgery. If strabismus is left untreated it may result in amblyopia, or a “lazy eye”. If the eyes are held straight with glasses the child’s vision will need to be watched to make sure the proper visual development is happening. If alignment does not improve through glasses, surgery may be necessary.

Amblyopia

Amblyopia is also known as “lazy eye”. If a child has amblyopia it is important to try to correct it while they are still young. This condition occurs when one eye develops strong (good) vision, and the other does not. The eye that does not have good vision is the “lazy eye” or the amblyotic eye.

Normal vision development requires that both eyes are able to focus on an object and that the eyes remain straight. If vision is blurred, or something is interfering with vision, the brain will ignore this eye and only use the good eye that has clear sight. It is important to treat this condition as quickly as possible because the longer one eye is dominant, the harder it is to treat.

Treatment of Amblyopia

The treatment of amblyopia depends on the condition that is causing the misalightment, or blurring, but it usually involves using a patch. Patch therapy will be used to cover the normal eye, forcing the use of the weaker eye. Over time, the eye will strengthen and vision will improve.

Pediatric Eye Care Marietta Eye Clinic

They say that hindsight is 20/20. When you look back on your child's last eye exam, did she get the care she deserved? Here at Marietta Eye Clinic, we believe that children are special, which is why our caring and professional staff will give your children the personalized treatment they need. We treat eye conditions such as lazy eye, blocked tear ducts, eye movement disorders, crossed or wandering eyes, as well as infections or injuries to the eye. Marietta Eye Clinic encourages you to schedule an eye exam for your child as soon as you suspect a problem. If detected early, many eye conditions can be effectively treated. With our knowledge, expertise, and caring, combined with a fun and relaxing environment, your child is sure to look back and remember her eye exam as a pleasant one. Dr. Charles Ho and Dr. Fatema Esmail are fellowship trained pediatric ophthalmologists at Marietta Eye Clinic.  They each have years of experience taking care of children's eyecare needs. We would like to be able to take care of your child's needs. Call us for an appointment today.