Congenital cataracts, which are present after birth or gradually develop lens clouding within one year of birth, are often caused by congenital genetics or developmental disorders; they are a relatively common childhood eye disease and an important cause of blindness and amblyopia in children.
Congenital cataracts have a genetic component in one-third of patients. One-third are non-genetic cataracts associated with intrauterine viral infections in the fetus during pregnancy (especially rubella or measles virus infections) and malnutrition and metabolic disorders (e.g. maternal diabetes during pregnancy, hyperthyroidism, low calcium). In another third of cases, the cause is unknown. The symptoms of congenital cataract vary, light ones may not have any symptoms, and the main symptom of severe infantile cataract is white pupil. Usually, you can pay more attention to the child’s performance: such as whether the child’s pupil area (pupil) changes, whether it turns white or gray and lusterless, whether it trembles; whether the child often rubs his eyes; pay attention to whether the child’s eye movements are normal; pay attention to checking the child’s visual acuity, and a 3-year-old child will usually check his vision after guidance The child’s vision is usually checked; pay attention to whether the child has compensatory head position, whether he/she looks crookedly, sees things in one eye, etc.
To sum up, congenital cataract is a clouding of the lens that exists before and after birth. Genetic factors, viral infection and malnutrition can lead to the occurrence of congenital cataract, which mainly manifests as a whitening of the pupil area. You should always pay attention to your child’s performance and seek medical consultation promptly when abnormalities are found.