Whether or not a baby’s eyes are normal after birth is one of the most important concerns of mothers, but it seems that mothers are at a loss when it comes to their young babies. Here are some tips for mothers on how to make initial observations of their baby’s or toddler’s eyes, so that problems can be detected as early as possible and prompt medical attention can be sought. Check the appearance of the eyes to see if both eyes are opening symmetrically. If one eye is not opening properly or is opening late, there may be lacrimal cystitis, ptosis, or hypoplasia of the eyeballs. Use your fingers to gently pull open the upper and lower eyelids or observe the appearance of the eyeballs when the baby opens his eyes to see if there are any abnormalities. The basic structure of the eyeballs of newborn babies develops the same as that of adults, only the function is not well developed yet. Therefore, mothers can refer to the structure of the adult eye to observe the baby, such as whether the black eye is bright, whether the white of the eye is white; through the black eye to see whether the pupil is round and centered, the baby pupil is very small in the sleep; pupil area there is no whiteness and so on. If you find that the two eyeballs are not the same size, the size of the black eyeballs is not the same, the black eyeballs are bluish, lightless, there are white spots, the pupil area is white, and the white eyeballs are red and congested, etc., these are all abnormal conditions. Judgment of visual function Judgment of visual function of infants mainly depends on whether both eyes are symmetrical or not, any inconsistency between both eyes may lead to poor vision in one eye. Meanwhile, eye diseases such as cataract, glaucoma and retinoblastoma can also be detected in the process of determining visual function. Visual function tests should be performed regularly every 3 months or so. Here are a few ways to check. 1, corneal reflection: under natural light, let the baby face the window, the use of spotlight flashlight, in a foot away from the baby’s eyes between the root of the nose, the cornea of both eyes there will be a reflection point. Under normal circumstances, both eyes reflective point are in the pupil area. It is not normal for one eye to have a reflective spot in the pupil and the other eye to have a reflective spot on the nasal or temporal side of the pupil, or even above or below the pupil. Newborns with poor gaze, this examination is more difficult, 3 months of age to start more appropriate. 2, red light reflex: semi-dark room, about 1m away from the subject, with the examining glasses (ophthalmology) to observe both eyes (preferably after dilating the pupils to check) the color of the retinal red reflection, brightness and whether the two eyes are symmetrical. If there is clouding on the optical path of the eye, there is a black shadow in the red reflection; if the reflection is white, there may be fundus dysplasia, potential intraocular damage, cataracts, tumors, etc.; if the brightness of both eyes is inconsistent, there may be refractive error and amblyopia. However, it is best to use ophthalmologic glasses for this examination and it is better to do it after dilating the pupils, so if the mother is not in a position to do so, she can take her child to a community health center or ophthalmology department. This test can be done right after birth. Pupil reflex: The pupils of both eyes should be round, in the center of the black eye, narrowed when the light is strong or when the child is sleeping, and dilated when the light is dark and responsive. If you find that the pupil of any eye is not round, not responsive, the size of both eyes is not the same, obviously afraid of light, the pupil area puts yellow light and so on are abnormal conditions. 4, gaze, follow the gaze: 3 months of the baby can fixate on the target, and can move with the target and follow the object, just fixate on the time may not be too long, easy to divert attention. Mom can take a brightly colored toys in front of the baby about half a meter to attract attention and move the toy to observe the follow the gaze situation, can be used with loud toys to attract attention, but do not make noise when moving toys to prevent the baby is to use hearing alone to determine the location. If you find that the baby can’t fixate, can’t follow the gaze and fixate again, as well as the two eyeballs trembling and unstable, are abnormal manifestations. 5.Covering test: Babies over 6 months old can use the covering test to understand the difference in binocular vision. When the baby is full of spirit, use gauze or clean cloth to cover one eye (you can use adhesive tape to stick gauze on the face), cover both eyes separately, observe the baby’s reaction after covering, such as covering one eye when crying and reacting especially strongly, may be covered by the eye is a better eye, and then cover the other eye, the reaction is not great or even play as usual, that is, cover the poorer vision eye. Some children are not allowed to cover the eye, and the reaction is the same in both eyes, so the vision may be the same in both eyes, but it may not be normal. If your baby won’t let you cover it with a cloth, try blocking it with your hand for a short period of time in front of your eyes to detect the problem. If your baby is sensible after 2 years of age, you can cover them and let them recognize pictures or letters to see the difference between the two eyes. If you find a difference in vision between the two eyes in infancy or early childhood, you must pay attention to it. 6, vision check: after the age of 3 years old children can be graphic or E word list vision check. The examination should be conducted in a brightly lit room, and the examination distance should be determined according to the instructions on the vision chart. Try to check both eyes separately. 2~3 year old babies with visual acuity ≤0.4 in one eye, 4~5 year old babies with visual acuity ≤0.5, 6 year old babies with visual acuity ≤0.7, and babies with visual acuity difference of 2 rows or more in both eyes at any age are considered abnormal. 7.Behavioral observation: If you find that the baby walks and loves to fall, likes to use fingers to point to the eyes or press the eyes, tilts the head to see things, squints one eye in the sunlight, fumbles to walk at night when there is no light or dares not walk, gazes at one eye, the other eye is skewed or one eye is always drilling into the corner of the eye, likes to rub the eyes or parents feel different from the babies of the same age and so on, should be seen by a doctor. Parents should be reminded that when they find something suspicious about their baby’s eyes, they should see a medical professional as soon as possible, and should not take a chance and think that their child is still young and will grow up to be fine. Whether there is really a problem or not should be examined by a doctor to determine. The initial examination by a pediatric ophthalmologist does not require a lot of cooperation from the child, and some of the examinations are even fun and acceptable to the baby. Take care of your baby’s eyes. Mom is always your baby’s closest health care provider!