Babies before 4 months, may have misaligned eyes. But if it persists after 4 months it warrants an eye examination.

Babies older than 3 months follows or tracks an object like a ball or toy.

If the baby can’t make steady eye contact or seems unable to see, an eye examination is mandatory

PRE SCHOOL AGE

- If the Child's eyes are misaligned, immediate follow up with an ophthalmologist is necessary. However lazy eye or Amblyopia does not have any warning signs.
- Children who are struggling with undetected vision problems fail to progress well in school.
- Children can have difficultyin recognising colours, shapes, letters and numbers which can signal a visual problem.
- There are special ways to test the Childs eye sight if the children cannot read.

WHY IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR AN EARLY SCREENING OF CHILDREN

- The child does not complain about defective vision.
- It may just go near the TV to watch it clearly or may avoid going out and playing or just tilt the head to see clearly.
- The child keeps rubbing the eye trying to see clearly.

WHOM TO SCREEN

- Eyes that are misaligned
- A history of prematurity
- Delayed motor development
- Poor eye tracking skills
- Failure to maintain eye contact
- Inability to maintain fixation(gaze) while looking at objects
- Inability to maintain eye contact
- White or Greyish white colour in the pupil
- Eyes that flutter quickly from side to side or up and down
- Eye pain, itchiness, or discomfort reported by your child
- Redness in either eye that doesn’t go away in few days
- Pus or crust in either eye
- Eyes that are always watery
- Drooping eyelids
- Eyes that often appear overly sensitive to light

EYE DISEASES IN CHILDREN

- Strabismus
- Refractive error
- Cataract
- Amblyopia
- Conjunctivitis
- Injury
- Tumors of the eye like retinoblastoma
- Nystagmus
- Xerophthalmia
- Trachoma
- Uveitis
- Nyctalopia
- Vernal conjunctivitis
- Congenital glaucoma
- Coloboma
- Albinism
- Microphthalmia
- Cellulitis
- Drooping eyelids

And many other conditions which have to be seen and treated at the earliest since they can be controlled or the complications can be prevented.