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Three generations of women, including an infant, looking at a digital tablet
Three generations of women, including an infant, looking at a digital tablet

Children’s Eye Conditions

Parents are usually the first to notice that their children may have special vision needs. Childhood is a crucial time for healthy vision development. Some conditions are obvious, while others may be more subtle.

If you have any concerns about your child’s vision, don’t hesitate to talk to your pediatrician or eye doctor. It is important to treat issues early, and regular screenings with a pediatric eye doctor are a great way to protect your child’s eye health.

Child playing on the floor looking at a wood train
Child playing on the floor looking at a wood train
Child playing on the floor looking at a wood train

Parents are usually the first to notice that their children may have special vision needs. Childhood is a crucial time for healthy vision development. Some conditions are obvious, while others may be more subtle.

If you have any concerns about your child’s vision, don’t hesitate to talk to your pediatrician or eye doctor. It is important to treat issues early, and regular screenings with a pediatric eye doctor are a great way to protect your child’s eye health.

Common Vision Conditions for Children

  • Nearsightedness, or myopia, affects distance vision. It can be inherited and is often discovered in children between 8 and 12 years of age. Your child may read without difficulty but will squint to see objects that are across the playground, for example.

    Other symptoms of nearsightedness may include:

    • Eyestrain
    • Headaches
    • Squinting to see properly
    • Difficulty seeing objects far away, such as a chalkboard at school
  • Farsightedness, or hyperopia, causes blurred vision close up. Like myopia, hyperopia may be inherited. Most children are farsighted, but do not experience blurry vision because their eyes are able to adjust accordingly—bending the light rays to place them directly on the retina (the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye). Often, children don’t need glasses as early farsightedness commonly improves on its own. However, significant farsightedness can lead to amblyopia (“lazy eye”) if left untreated, so regular eye doctor visits are crucial.

    Symptoms of farsightedness may include:

    • Difficulty performing near work (or close-up) tasks such as reading or threading a needle
    • Eyestrain
    • Squinting
    • Headaches
  • Astigmatism is a condition in which the cornea (clear outer layer of the eye) or lens (inner part of the eye that helps with focus) has an oval shape, causing light rays entering the eye to bend incorrectly. Astigmatism distorts or blurs both near and far objects and can coexist with myopia or hyperopia. Uncorrected astigmatism can negatively affect a child’s ability to perform in school, sports and play.

    Symptoms of astigmatism may include:

    • Blurry or distorted vision
    • Eyestrain
    • Headaches
    • Squinting to see clearly
    • Eye discomfort

Remember that your child may not notice symptoms such as blurred or distorted vision, among others. So, maintaining regular eye exams is important.

Remember that your child may not notice symptoms such as blurred or distorted vision, among others. So, maintaining regular eye exams is important.

What Should I Be on the Lookout for?

If you spot a problem or strange behavior with respect to your child’s eyes, be sure to contact your eye doctor immediately, regardless of your child’s age. Untreated conditions such as infection, refractive errors or misaligned eyes can harm your child’s vision. While most children’s eyes develop normally, some problems can emerge in young children.

See the following list of common eye conditions in children.

“Lazy Eye” (Amblyopia)

Amblyopia (also known as “lazy eye”) is a condition which causes one eye to have poorer vision than the other. Amblyopia begins in childhood and is a common cause of vision loss in kids, but early treatment works well and may help prevent long term vision loss. Children can develop amblyopia when they need, but are not treated for, problems such as refractive errors, strabismus (misaligned eyes), droopy eyelids or cataracts. It is often associated with strabismus, or crossed eyes, when an individual’s eyes appear directed toward two different points instead of one.

Symptoms of Amblyopia

Symptoms of this condition may be difficult to notice. Amblyopia occurs when there is reduced vision in one eye because the eye and the brain are not working together. The brain may start to ignore the image from the amblyopic eye. Amblyopia normally only affects one eye—resulting in the amblyopic eye appearing "lazy." Children with amblyopia may have poor depth perception (or have difficulty telling how near or far something is). Other symptoms that parents and caregivers may notice include:

  • Squinting
  • Shutting one eye
  • Tilting their head

Treatment for Amblyopia

If a vision problem is causing amblyopia, your eye doctor may treat that first. For example, they may recommend glasses or contacts (for children who are nearsighted or farsighted) or surgery (for children with cataracts). The next step is to retrain the brain by forcing it to use the weaker eye. These treatments may include:

  • Placing an eye patch over the stronger eye to strengthen the weaker eye
  • Using blurring medication eye drops in the stronger (good) eye to temporarily blur the vision and force use of the weaker eye, helping to strengthen it over time

Crossed Eyes (Strabismus)

Strabismus (crossed eyes) is a common eye condition among children. This occurs when a person’s eyes are not able to align on the same point at the same time and appear to be misaligned or pointed in different directions. The misalignment can shift from one eye to the other. For both eyes to align and focus on a single point, all muscles in both eyes must work together. Most strabismus is not associated with other medical problems.

Crossed eyes develop most often in babies, and it is easier to correct when caught early. This is often not a condition babies or children simply outgrow, so children with eyes that seem to be misaligned should be examined and treated if necessary.

Strabismus affects vision, as both eyes must aim at the same point together in order to see properly. A condition called amblyopia, or "lazy eye," can develop when a person's eyes are not aligned. Speak to your eye doctor and pediatrician if you notice any of the associated signs.

Signs of Crossed Eyes

The most obvious sign of crossed eyes is when the eyes appear to be pointed in different directions. There are, however, more signs of crossed eyes that can most often be observed in children:

  • Eyes that do not move together
  • Unsymmetrical points of reflection in each eye
  • Tilting the head to one side
  • Inability to gauge depth
  • Squinting with only one eye

Treatment for Crossed Eyes

In order to improve vision, the weakened muscles in the affected eye or eyes must be put to work. Several treatments may be used alone or in combination, depending on the type, severity and cause of strabismus as well as the age of your child. Treatments include:

  • Eyeglasses or contact lenses may help people who have crossed eyes due to an uncorrected farsightedness
  • Special eyeglasses and/or a clear, wedge-shaped prism that bends (refracts) light to help focus and straighten the eyes
  • Patching might be recommended to help strengthen the misaligned eye (that is weaker than the other eye)
  • Blurring medication eye drops may be used in the stronger (good) eye to temporarily blur the vision and force use of the weaker eye, helping to strengthen it over time
  • Eye muscle exercises are sometimes recommended in order to help both eyes focus inward
  • Surgery is recommended if glasses, prisms, patching or eye exercises do not help

Did You Know?

Sometimes photos can uncover common and uncommon eye concerns—from the way the flash reflects off the retina. If a photo is taken under optimal conditions and you see a white, yellow or black reflection in one or both of your child's eyes, show your child's pediatrician or eye doctor as this may be a warning sign.

Read how this helped one mother on the American Academy of Ophthalmologylink-out icon website.

Sometimes photos can uncover common and uncommon eye concerns—from the way the flash reflects off the retina. If a photo is taken under optimal conditions and you see a white, yellow or black reflection in one or both of your child's eyes, show your child's pediatrician or eye doctor as this may be a warning sign.

Read how this helped one mother on the American Academy of Ophthalmologylink-out icon website.

Pediatric or Congenital Cataracts

Most people associate cataracts only with aging, but infants and children can also get cataracts (known as pediatric cataracts).

Normally, babies are born with a transparent lens in each eye. The lens focuses objects on the retina, making it possible for the eye to see. Instead of a transparent lens, some babies are born with a milky white lens. Cataracts in children can be congenital (present at birth) or acquired (developing over time in infants, children and adolescents).

Symptoms of Congenital Cataracts:

Treatment for Congenital Cataracts:

  • Surgery for cataracts in babies is much like it is for adults, involving the removal of the affected lens in the eye. When performed by an experienced surgeon, cataract removal is generally safe
    • The need for cataract surgery will depend on whether your child’s vision is affected. This will be determined by your eye doctor
  • Post-surgery, most children will need to wear glasses or contact lenses
  • In some cases, a clear plastic lens called an intraocular lens (IOL) is inserted during operation
  • Many doctors choose contact lenses as a more practical solution for babies after cataract surgery

Left untreated, congenital cataracts can damage the connection between the brain and the eyes. Once made, these connections don’t change and can cause serious conditions, ranging from "lazy eye" (amblyopia) to vision loss. Early detection and swift treatment are paramount to your child’s eye health.

Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis)

Conjunctivitis is an irritation of the eye from infection or allergy. If not due to an allergy, it can be the result of a bacterial or viral infection (both are contagious and easily spread). This condition causes inflammation and irritation of the outer membrane of the eye and the inner eyelid.

Symptoms of Pink Eye:

  • Red, irritated eyes
  • Itchy eyes
  • Teary eyes
  • Sticky discharge
Young girl having her eyes examined by a doctor
Young girl having her eyes examined by a doctor
Young girl having her eyes examined by a doctor
  • Red, irritated eyes
  • Itchy eyes
  • Teary eyes
  • Sticky discharge

Treatment for Pink Eye

While "pink eye" usually goes away on its own in about a week, it's important that you keep your child home from school or daycare if they have contagious conjunctivitis. Symptoms can often be controlled at home, but a doctor may need to prescribe antibacterial eye drops. The pediatrician can determine the underlying cause of pink eye and recommend the proper course of treatment.

Vibrating Eyes (Nystagmus)

Nystagmus is a condition where the eyes move rapidly and uncontrollably. It can be congenital (present at birth) or acquired (developing over time).

When a child’s eyes seem to jump, vibrate back and forth or move in a way that looks unusual to you, this is a signal that the eyes' motor system may not be developing normally. Congenital nystagmus is sometimes inherited, so tell your pediatrician or eye doctor during your baby’s first eye examination if nystagmus runs in your family.

Symptoms of Vibrating Eye:

  • Rapid, involuntary eye movements
    • Usually side to side movement, but it can also be up and down or circular and vary between slow and fast
  • Trouble seeing clearly
  • Extreme sensitivity to light
  • Dizziness
  • Holding the head in a turned or tilted position

Nystagmus must be diagnosed by an eye doctor.

Treatment for Vibrating Eye

Treating nystagmus depends on the type and cause. People born with nystagmus cannot be cured of the condition but may benefit from:

  • Glasses or contact lenses, which help provide clearer vision and slow the eye movements
  • The American Nystagmus Networklink-out icon, which provides a great deal of information on this condition

Blocked Tear Duct

This condition occurs when the eye’s drainage system for tears is partially or completely obstructed. With a blocked tear duct, tears do not drain normally, which can cause a watery, irritated or infected eye.

It’s estimated that roughly 20% of newborns have a blocked tear duct. It is a condition that usually resolves on its own within four to six months.

It’s estimated that roughly 20% of newborns have a blocked tear duct. It is a condition that usually resolves on its own within four to six months.

Symptoms of Blocked Tear Ducts:

  • Frequent watering of the eyes
  • Crusting or discharge around the eye, especially first thing in the morning

Treatment for Blocked Tear Ducts:

  • Most cases will resolve on their own within your child’s first year
  • Your eye doctor or pediatrician may show you a special massage technique to help open the tear duct
  • If symptoms last beyond then, a minor, generally painless surgical procedure can be performed to open the duct

Remember!

A child might not be able to tell you their vision is blurry, and symptoms can go unnoticed by parents or caregivers. Protect your child’s vision with regular screening and eye exams.

A child might not be able to tell you their vision is blurry, and symptoms can go unnoticed by parents or caregivers. Protect your child’s vision with regular screening and eye exams.

Other Signs + Symptoms of Children’s Eye Conditions

The following are warning signs of vision needs:

  • Sitting or standing close to the TV
  • Holding a book close to eyes
  • Squinting
  • Rubbing eyes
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Excessive tearing
  • Redness
  • Closing one eye to see better
  • Avoiding certain activities, close (reading) or far (playing ball)
  • Complaining of headaches
  • Spots on the white of the eye
  • Dilated eyes (large pupils)
  • Crust or other discharge from the eye

Some issues require no treatment, while others may be corrected easily with eyeglasses or other forms of correction. In all cases, the best chance to make sure your child’s vision is safe is to detect issues early with regular eye examinations. Don't hesitate to talk to your pediatrician or eye doctor if you have any concerns.

Eye Injuries + Safety

Despite all the things you do to keep your children safe—at home, on the playground and in the car—accidents happen. Each year, thousands of children visit emergency rooms and doctors’ offices with eye injuries.

Remember, the best way to help keep your child's eyes healthy is through regular professional eye examinations. Be sure to have your child's eyes examined—by a licensed eye doctor—before six months of age and again at age three.

Additional Resources:
Visit Prevent Blindness Americalink-out icon to learn about The Eye Patch Club.

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