Helping Your Child See Her Future
Healthy eyes and vision are important to children's development, so their eyes should be examined regularly. Because vision problems can affect learning, early detection and correction is important—especially as children reach school age.
When children have vision problems, they may show the following signs:
- Eye rubbing
- Sensitivity to light
- Poor focusing
- Abnormal eye alignment
- Trouble following objects
- Chronic redness
- Chronic tearing
- White pupils (instead of black)
- Inability to see objects that are far away
- Trouble reading
- Squinting
- Sitting too close to the television
Common eye conditions in children include:
- Near- and farsightedness
- Astigmatism
- Lazy eye
- Misalignment of the eyes
- Malignant tumor on the eye
- Infantile cataracts
- Congenital glaucoma
In addition to eye problems, children also can injure their eye and need medical attention. Eyes injuries can include:
- Routine irritations (sand, dirt, and other foreign bodies in the eye)
- Embedded foreign body in the eye
- Chemical exposure
- Black eye, blunt injury or contusion
Virtua's board-certified ophthalmologists offer a wide range of specialized eye care and provide the latest treatments for eye problems and injuries. To diagnose eye problems, Virtua ophthalmologists use the following tools and procedures:
- Eye exams
- A and B scans
- Glaucoma tests
- Visual field exams
- Ultrasounds and other imaging technologies
- Optic nerve fiber analysis
Then, based on the condition, Virtua ophthalmologists provide the following treatments:
- Glasses or contacts
- Surgical procedures including LASIK
- Cryotherapy
- Laser treatments
- Contact lens fitting
