Cataracts in children: symptoms, causes and treatments

Cataracts can occur not only in adults, but also in children and infants. Cataracts in children that appear from birth are called congenital cataracts.

However, congenital cataract is a rare condition. Cataracts in children can only occur in one eye, or both.

Symptoms of cataracts in children

Routine eye examination can help detect the presence or absence of cataracts in children. Sometimes, cataracts are not visible and cause little difficulty in vision, or do not affect vision at all.

Cataracts in children look like white or gray dots. Cataracts can also look like reflections on the pupils of the eye.

Symptoms of cataracts in children are

eyes that are out of tune
white pupils are examined with a flashlight
reduced and blurred vision
patterned and unintentional eyeball movements, such as eyes looking up and down
glare when you see light or there are halos when you see lights

The child may have difficulty explaining the visual impairment he is experiencing. He can only complain about seeing shadows (double vision) or not seeing colors as bright as usual.

Causes of cataracts in children

Cataracts in children can occur due to hereditary problems or chromosomal problems. However, cataracts in children can occur as a result of eye infections, eye lesions (trauma), eye problems, diabetes, steroid use, exposure to poisons, and radiation therapy.

Eye examination in children

The first eye examination will be done by a doctor when the child is still a baby. Then, the child can pass an ordinary eye exam.

At the age of four months, he must be able to look around or can follow things with his eyes. If the child cannot do it, parents should consult a doctor.

Cataract examination in children can be done by doctors using a visual acuity test (visual acuity test) and pupillary dilation test. In a visual acuity test, a child's visual abilities will be measured at different distances.

During the pupillary dilation test, the child's pupils will be enlarged with eye drops so that the doctor can look more closely at the retina and nerve of the eye to detect the presence or absence of eye problems.

Treatment of cataracts in children

If cataracts in children are very annoying, doctors can then recommend to children to have a lens of surgery. The doctor will give anesthesia before starting the operation.

After that, the doctor will use a special tool to break and remove the lens of the eye that has been cataracted through a small incision. The doctor can replace a child's eye lens with an artificial lens.

But in general, children will only get contact lenses or glasses after removing their lenses.

Cataracts in children who are not treated immediately can cause permanent eye damage, such as lazy vision syndrome and even blindness. The elderly need not worry because most ocular lens surgery is low risk and has a high success rate.

If an artificial glass is given to a child, parents must be careful, because the latter can cause turbidity of the posterior capsule (OPC) which can cause new blurred vision.

Always consult a doctor before choosing special treatments for cataracts in children.

What happens if a cataract in a child is not treated immediately?

Cataracts in children should not be underestimated because they can cause blurred vision, the direction of the eye is different from what you want to see, glaucoma, retina that is separated from the inner layers of the eye, a buildup of fluid between the layers of the retina, bacterial infections and changes in shape. on the retina.

Prevention of cataracts in children

Although most cataracts in children cannot be prevented, not all cataracts in children are congenital cataracts. Therefore, cataracts in children can always be prevented. Sun exposure is one of the main factors in cataracts in children.

Therefore, parents must protect the eyes of their children, especially if they like to play outside. In hot weather, wear wide hats and children's size sunglasses.

Make sure the sunglasses given to children can protect their eyes from the sun's ultraviolet rays.