Infants don ’ t come with instructions ; every parent knows that . But an infant ’ s development into childhood has a series of benchmarks that helps parents and doctors track a child ’ s healthy progression . Yet one of the most obvious and simple indicators of good health that is often overlooked is the health of children ’ s eyes .
Dr . Lisa Christian is hoping to change that . She is a clinical associate professor at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Sciences program , where she is currently an interim associate director for clinical programs . One of her areas of specialty is pediatric eye care . She is researching , among other things , how to communicate to parents and the medical community the importance of having infants seen by optometry professionals .
“ A lot of the conditions we are looking for are invisible to the parents ,” said Dr . Christian , noting that while babies can ’ t communicate that there is a problem , parents can ’ t always detect one . “ Often times parents don ’ t know .”
According to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind ( CNIB ), 23,000 Canadian children under the age of 15 are living with vision loss . Approximately 75 per cent of vision loss in the early stages of life ( or later ) can be treated or prevented .
On its website , the CNIB says , “ despite the common misconception that vision loss cannot be diagnosed until a child can verbally articulate what they can see , early examination by an eye care practitioner can detect visual abnormalities in a newborn . Our vision continues to develop until we are about nine to twelve years old .
After that , our eyesight is complete and can ’ t be easily changed .”
That is the message Dr . Christian hopes parents will understand : that early detection of eye health issues in infants allows for proper diagnosis and a treatment plan that can be a preventative measure against future eye health concerns .
“ We recommend that children get their eyes checked at six months of age ,” said Dr . Christian . “ In the first year of life , we ’ re looking at depth perception at six months and we ’ re starting to look at eye developmental benchmarks or milestones for eye health .”
She adds , “ Issues can crop at any age . There is no specific age for vision problems to appear . There are conditions that can occur in the newborn stage or the toddler stage .”
To have an infant assessed , Dr . Christian says the first step is to go an optometrist . Unlike a family physician , optometrists have the equipment to assess infant eyes , and are trained to do so .
“ A child can be born with a cataract and , if not treated early , it can have an impact later , such as a turning eye ,” she explains , adding , “ A lazy eye or eye disease doesn ’ t have symptoms parents can see .”
The CNIB states the most common causes of vision loss in infants and young children are cortical vision impairment , a disturbance of the visual cortex of the brain , and retinopathy of prematurity , an eye disorder affecting premature infants .
“ Retinopathy of prematurity can be quite devastating ,” said Dr . Christian , adding that a “ preventative onset can help find a proper course of treatment .”
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