When it comes to cataracts, most people’s reaction is that it is a disease that only the elderly can get. Little do we know that small babies can also get cataracts. I have treated many of these children in my twenty-year career, and now perform several cataract surgeries on infants and children every month.
Four out of every 1,000 newborns have congenital cataracts, and congenital cataracts are one of the most common causes of visual impairment in children.
In children with congenital cataracts, if the cloudy material in the lens is not removed in a timely manner, it can affect the development of vision and lead to amblyopia or even blindness because the child’s eyes are not stimulated by enough light for a long time.
This picture shows the position of the lens (a clouded lens is a cataract).
2, due to viral infection of the mother during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester, where viral infection has the greatest impact.
3, the mother’s pregnancy, especially in the first trimester, the application of some drugs such as corticosteroids, antibiotics, especially sulfonamides, exposure to X-rays.
4. The mother suffers from metabolic diseases during pregnancy, such as diabetes mellitus, thyroid insufficiency, and extreme nutritional and vitamin deficiencies.
Congenital cataracts can be present from birth or can develop gradually after birth.
The symptoms of congenital cataracts are often overlooked by parents, and many children are discovered only after they are older, thus missing the best time for treatment. 2 years old is an important period for vision development, and the younger the age of the disease, the greater the impact.
How can parents detect their children’s eye problems as early as possible? Parents need to carefully observe their child’s every move.
Young babies may show the following signs: confused eyes, inability to focus on a certain target, no sensitive response to light stimulation, slow response to moving targets, toys placed in front of them, reaching out to grasp them but not being able to do so. Parents can try to cover one of the child’s eyes with alternating hands. If the child cries and resists immediately, it means that the child can only see with one eye.
In older children, the child’s life skills are reduced and the child’s movements are uncoordinated. For example, they are not interested in watching television or brightly colored images, are unable to hold small objects accurately, read and write too close to books, tilt their heads when reading, move more slowly than children of the same age, and do not like to go outdoors.
The most typical feature of congenital cataract is the white pupil, but when the light is strong during the day, the pupil narrows and is not easy to detect. In a dark place, the pupil will automatically dilate, and parents can still find the child’s pupil area appears grayish-white when they observe it up close.
When such an abnormality as above is found, the child should be brought to the cataract doctor of ophthalmology in time, and if it is diagnosed as congenital cataract, surgery should be performed as early as possible.
Ophthalmologists recommend that newborn screening should be done within one month after birth, and routine eye examinations should be done from full term to 3 months after birth for early detection, early diagnosis and early treatment.
After surgery, not everything is fine, but also requires glasses and amblyopia treatment for many years, which is not only time-consuming and energy-consuming, but also a financial burden for the parents of the child.
For this reason, the Wenzhou Charity Organization subsidizes 4,900 RMB per eye for children with congenital cataracts operated in our hospital.
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