Pediatric Eye Clinic Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common complication of diabetes. It is the leading cause of blindness in American adults. It is characterized by progressive damage to the blood vessels of the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye that is necessary for good vision. DR progresses through four stages, mild nonproliferative retinopathy (microaneurysms), moderate nonproliferative retinopathy (blockage in some retinal vessels), severe nonproliferative retinopathy (more vessels are blocked leading to deprived retina from blood supply leading to growing new blood...

Pediatric Eye Clinic Macular degeneration, often called age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is an eye disorder associated with aging and results in damaging sharp and central vision. Central vision is needed for seeing objects clearly and for common daily tasks such as reading and driving. AMD affects the macula, the central part the retina that allows the eye to see fine details. There are two forms of AMD—wet and dry. Wet AMD is when abnormal blood vessel behind the retina start to grow under the macula, ultimately leading to blood and fluid leakage. Bleeding, leaking, and scarring from...

Pediatric Eye Clinic 1. Use The 20/20/20 RuleYour eyes aren’t designed to stare all day at something directly in front of you. With the 20/20/20 rule, you give your eyes a much-needed break during long work days. If you look at the screen for 20 minutes, you must look at something at least 20 feet away from you for 20 seconds. The longer you look away from your screen, though, the better! 2. Ensure Your Room Is Well LitIt may sound counterintuitive, but less light in your room is actually better for your eyes when you’re working on a computer. Offices shouldn’t be too bright, so when possible,...

Pediatric Eye Clinic How does COVID reach the eyes? People respond in different ways to COVID-19 infections. While some people develop mild to severe respiratory problems, others experience no symptoms at all. Pink eye remains the most common sign of COVID in the eyes of children and adults. Doctors are still learning how COVID affects the eyes. But it's clear that some people with COVID experience inflammation throughout their body. This inflammation can cause blood clots to form. These clots may travel through the body and reach the veins, arteries and blood vessels of the eye. COVID's...

Pediatric Eye Clinic How does astigmatism affect children?When the child has a small astigmatism, he does not suffer discomfort. On the other hand, when the degree is higher, you can have blurred vision at all distances, both far and near; manifesting at school age with problems seeing the blackboard or reading. The child with astigmatism has a distorted perception of images and must make a great effort to try to compensate for the visual defect, which causes headaches, eye discomfort (frequent blinking, red eye, itching) and as a consequence poor school performance. Also, if not corrected,...

Pediatric Eye Clinic Did you know that half of children during the first year have astigmatism? This refractive defect, which prevents light from refracting well and images from focusing on the retina, but from in front or behind, causes blurred vision. However, thanks to the process of emmetropization or eye growth, its diameter and radius of curvature increase, so the defect in children is corrected in the first two years of life. Likewise, astigmatism less than 1 diopter is considered normal in children under two years of age, as are half-diopter values ​​from 3 years of age (physiological...

Pediatric Eye Clinic Myopia is caused by factors that are part of the ocular structure, such as the cornea, the lens and the ocular structure itself. When there are irregularities in the curvature of the cornea, the light that enters the eye passes through the lens, but the images are formed in front of the retina and not on it. Note that the same thing can happen if the lens is too curved and has poor focusing power. In addition to the ocular anatomy, there are other factors that can cause myopia: Genetics: Myopia is an inherited condition. The child of one or two myopic parents is at...