A pediatric cataract is a leading cause of babyhood blindness. Unstained cataracts in children lead to tremendous social, economic, and emotional burdens to the child, family, and society. Blindness related to pediatric cataracts acts with early identification and suitable management. Most cases are diagnosed on routine testing whereas some may be diagnosed after the parents have noticed leukocoria or hypermetropia. Pediatric cataract surgery has evolved over time, and with gaining knowledge of myopic shift and axial length growth, the result of this sufferer has come more predictable.
• A cataract becomes overcast over the lens of the eye. This can affect your child’s vision. Cataracts in children can result in blindness if they are not treated.
• Your child may be born with a cataract or it may develop latterly in life( acquired).
• Symptoms include cloudy or blurry vision, eyes that aren't aligned, and eye movements that can't be controlled.
• The children need surgery to remove cataracts.
• Protecting your child’s eyes from the sun may help cataracts and other eye problems latterly in life.
Symptoms may be different for each child. They can include
• A pupil looks white when a torch or any light is shined into the eye
• Eyes that aren’t in the right position( not lined up)
• Metrical eye movements that can't be controlled( called nystagmus). The eyes may go back and forth, over and down, around, or mixed.
• Cloudy or vague vision
• Trouble seeing
• Lights that look too bright or have too much shine
• Notice a circle of light near an object
There is the only treatment to remove cataracts is surgery
Still, it may not need to be removed, If your child’s cataract is small and does not affect their vision. However, it should be removed as soon as possible, If it does affect their eyesight. Else their vision can be affected in the future.
Your doctor will give your child general anesthesia, so during the operation, your child won't feel anything or wake. They’ll use special tools to break up the lens, and also remove it through a tiny incision.
Now, your consultant has some options:
• Artificial lens( still being inspected for use in early young children)
• Contact lenses
• Eyeglasses( most children need them indeed after successful surgery
Occasionally, if your child has cataracts in both eyes-- or one was worse than the other-- they may develop a condition called amblyopia. It occurs when one eye is stronger than the other and can be treated by a consultant.
Your child’s eye doctor will ask you about your child’s health history. Also, he or she'll take your child an eye test. Your child may require such tests:
• Visual perceptivity/acuity test. This is the eye vision test. It checks your child’s eye power to see from different distances.
• Pupil dilation. Your child will get eye drops. These make the pupils wider( dilated). This allows the doctor to get a close view of the eye's lens, retina, and optic nerve. The doctor will look for symptoms of damage or other eye problems.
Follow-up is important after cataract surgery in children.
• Frequent visits are needed to cover and maximize visual development and check for common complications, like as amblyopia, or elevated pressure in the eye( glaucoma).
• After cataract surgery, Almost children wear contact lenses or spectacles to allow for a clear and focused image and to maximize their visual development.