Posted on

Is your child suffering from an allergy in the eyes? Check out this useful guide curated by our Paediatric Eye Doctors

When Mrs Suhasini Dasgupta’s son complained of itchy and red eyes, she knew something was wrong. She took her son to one of the best eye hospitals in Kolkata and consulted a paediatric eye doctor. The eye doctor told her that her son was suffering from allergic conjunctivitis – an eye condition that causes red, watery and itchy eyes. He explained to her that “our immune system (for instance antibodies) helps the body fight off infection-causing germs. Allergic diseases occur when the body’s immune system responds to harmless substances like dust or pollen.” The eye doctor also recommended her to visit an allergist who can run a couple of skin and blood tests to help identify the specific allergen(s).

paediatric eye doctor

Allergic conjunctivitis is fairly common and like Mrs Dasgupta’s son, there are many kids who suffer from different types of eye allergies such as Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis and Atopic Keratoconjunctivitis.

Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis – occurs due to allergic reaction to:

  • Seasonal changes (for instance, when the pollen count is high) – if the eye allergy is accompanied by sneezing, nasal congestion and fever, there are high chances that the allergy is seasonal.
  • Dust
  • Smoke
  • Cosmetics

Symptoms:

  • Red or pink eyes
  • Itchy eyes
  • Blurred vision
  • Burning sensation in the eyes
  • Photophobia (discomfort due  to bright light)
  • Foreign body sensation ( a feeling of something being stuck in the eyes)
  • Excessive tearing
  • Swollen eyes

Atopic Keratoconjunctivitis – strongly linked to Atopic Dermatitis (eczema) and usually affects both the eyes.

Symptoms:

  • Itchy eyes
  • Blurred vision
  • Burning sensation
  • Tearing
  • Thick mucous discharge from the eyes

If Atopic Keratoconjunctivitis is not treated on time, it can scar the cornea. It often affects people when they are in the age group between their late teenage years and their fifties.

Other Allergic Conjunctivitis

If your child wears contact lenses, he/she is at higher risk of developing a mild type of allergy known as contact allergic conjunctivitis. In such cases, your kid will be advised to temporarily stop wearing the lenses until the signs resolve. However, if your child is complaining of blurred vision, itchy eyes, foreign body sensation, red eyes and mucus discharge, then it’s giant papillary conjunctivitis – a severe form of contact allergic conjunctivitis.

Prevention and Management 

  • When outdoors, your child must wear glasses or sunglasses to prevent exposure from dust, mold, or pollen.
  • Reduce their exposure to dust mites
  • Don’t let them rub their eyes as it may aggravate the condition
  • To limit their exposure to mold, keep the humidity of your home at a lower level.
  • Clean your home regularly and do the cleaning/ dusting when your kid is not around.
  • Rinse the eyes with cold water.

Treatment

If prevention and management of the allergy does not improve the condition, visit a Paediatric eye doctor at the earliest. The doctor may prescribe allergy eye drops to your child. These clean the allergens out of the eyes, thus reducing any further inflammation. Your child needs to use these drops regularly every day. Even when your child starts feeling better, he/she mustn’t stop using them unless your Paediatric eye doctor advises doing so. It’s because stopping to apply the eye drops suddenly may cause the problem to return or even cause eye damage.

 

Posted on

Refractive Errors In Children

Refractive errors are one of the most common eye conditions found in children. Refractive errors are often considered a minor eye-related issue. However, it is important not to let it take a backseat as it can affect vision. Impaired vision can, in turn, affect your child’s performance in school and social activities.

What are refractive errors?

In order for anybody to see clearly, the light that enters the eye must precisely focus on the retina, the portion at the back of the eyes that are composed of light-sensitive cells. The two parts of the eyes, lens and cornea, play an important role in focusing light rays on the retina. The presence of a refractive error is felt when the light does not precisely focus on the retina.

Refractive errors in children

Types of refractive errors found in children

Myopia

Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is a condition where objects located in a distance appear blurry or out of focus. Myopia is the most common type of refractive error found in children. Although blurry-distant-vision is the primary symptom of myopia, children are too young or unaware to discern it or complain about it.

Secondary symptoms may indicate the presence of refractive error in your child. Some of the common secondary symptoms to watch out for include sitting too close to the TV or holding books up close in the face. Take notice if your child suddenly loses interest in sports that require good distant vision.

In case you observe these symptoms in your child, schedule an appointment with an eye doctor as soon as possible. If you are looking for an eye hospital in Kolkata, visit Disha Eye Hospitals as they have a team of the best paediatric eye doctors, who would carry out a proper diagnosis of your child’s refractive error.

Hyperopia                 

Hyperopia, or also known as farsightedness, is when objects located close by appearing blurry or out of focus. This refractive error is very common in children. Some of the common symptoms of hyperopia in children are eye tiredness, eye strain, and headaches. A few external signs of hyperopia that you might notice in your child include difficulty in reading, eye rubbing, and squinting.

Astigmatism

Astigmatism is the blurriness of both close and distant vision. In many cases, astigmatism begins in early childhood; the refractive error can develop in adulthood as well. Persisting eye fatigue (tiredness), eye strain, and headaches are some of the common symptoms of astigmatism that your child may experience.

Causes of refractive errors

Just like the symptoms, causes of refractive errors vary. Myopia commonly occurs when the eye’s refractive power is too strong. A longer length of the eyeball axis is another important cause of myopia.

Hyperopia can occur when the length of the eyeball axis is short. The refractive error can also occur when the eye has a weak refractive power. Astigmatism often occurs due to abnormal curvature of the cornea. In many cases, refractive error is inherited, meaning if you or your spouse have a refractive error, your child is likely to develop the condition.

Treatment of refractive errors

Paediatric eye doctors usually prescribe eyeglasses or contact lenses in order to temporarily correct refractive errors in children. Prescription eyeglasses are often the preferred refractive error correction option for younger children. This is because they are safer as compared to prescription contact lenses.

Take help from one of Disha’s paediatric eye doctors

Choose the best eye specialists in Kolkata from the paediatric eye care department, who can help you in selecting the right treatment option for your child. Learn more about the hospital at  http://www.dishaeye.org/.