Should he wear glasses? Shortly after birth, it is not always easy to detect whether a child has vision problems, especially myopia. If step points are made regularly by the pediatrician or the general practitioner with the child, there are signs that should alert the parents. In the show Well done for youDominique Brémond-Gignac, head of the ophthalmology department at Necker Hospital in Paris, lists the different ways to identify any impairment of children’s eyesight.
A more elongated eye than normal
First, at three months, “he must already be able to follow a target”, indicates the doctor on Europe 1. “The child who is going to take his bottle or the breast, he will still look at his mother. important point to judge as a parent”, she adds, specifying that in case of the slightest doubt, it is necessary to think of asking the pediatrician or the ophthalmologist quickly.
If the child is nearsighted, it is because he has an eye that is physiologically different from the others. “This eye is larger than normal for the age of the child”, explains Dominique Brémond-Gignac, who continues: “The fact that the eye is more elongated means that the images on the retina do not go be focused in the right place, which will give blurry vision. The most common is an eye that is too long”.
Persistent retinal risks
If later, the child is operated on his myopic eye, risks persist on the retina, observes the doctor. “Even if you are operated on, it will flatten the cornea precisely so as to refocus the focus on the retina. But since the eye is still too big, retinal or other risks” are always possible, says Dominique Brémond-Gignac.
As the child grows, the eye affected by myopia will also continue to grow. This sight problem is generally of hereditary origin, or due to overexposure to screens or the lack of going outside, as there was often during confinement. To curb myopia, you can use drops, rigid lenses or even defocusing glasses.