Perfect vision is only learnt during childhood.
Good vision of our children is very close to our hearts. And this is no lip service - for this we employ four specialists (orthoptists) who had a first-class education at German or international university clinics. Based on special examinations they rapidly detect any ametropia. And this is very important for development of vision, because the complex interplay of eye, visual nerve and brain needs practice. It is only formed during the first years of life and is fully developed at the age of approx. 12 years. During this sensitive stage, healthy development can be impaired or even fully stopped by various factors, so that the ability of good vision never fully develops. Worldwide, there are approx. 500,000 blind children, 5,000 of which are living in Germany.
Our objective is to encourage you - the parents - to give your attention to your child's vision and to visit our clinic together with your child to perform the recommended preventive ophthalmologic examinations or in case your child shows abnormalities or acute diseases of the eyes.
The parent's role - take a close look right from the beginning
The parent's observations have a decisive role when detecting ametropia and acute or severe diseases. Babies at the age of 2 to 5 months already blink in case of sudden optic stimuli, focus objects and follow them with their eyes. After approx. 4 months, they can sharply see objects at various distances, and until the 7th month they should have a fully developed stereo vision and contrast ability. When observing your baby you can see if your child responds to optic stimuli like toys or attentively looks at the faces of its parents or its own feet and hands. During infancy, you can describe to your ophthalmologist if your child also sharply sees and catches close objects, or if it suspiciously often rubs its eyes. During growth, the vision may change time and again. Thus, it is particularly useful to have a closer look right before school enrolment, so that your child can start such new period in life without problems.
Furthermore, do not hesitate and immediately contact us in case of acute eye disorders, reddened eyes and other abnormalities or in case of allergic reactions at the eye. Even though treatment of young patients is not always easy, it is always worth the effort in order to grant healthy development of your child's vision.
The role of the ophthalmologist and the vision testing
Our surgery uses state-of-the-art diagnostic methods, which are not available to paediatricians, to determine your child's visual performance..
A modern ophthalmologic surgery uses various diagnostic methods to determine ametropia or eye disorders of your child - with a higher accuracy and confidence as this would be possible at a paediatrician. Thus, the BVA recommends preventive ophthalmologic examinations between the 2nd and 3rd year of life as well as before school enrolement. Families with a history of eye disorders or ametropia should contact an ophthalmologist as early as possible.
Elements of preventive ophthalmologic examinations
- Checking of vision (visus)
- Position of the eyes: latent or manifest strabismus
- Movability of the eyes (mobility / impaired gaze)
- Binocular interplay (binocular vision)
The Vision testing at Breyer Eye Surgery
At the eye school (vision testing) of Breyer Eye Surgery your children will be examined by qualified orthoptists. They early detect any present ametropia that could impede healthy development of your child's vision, and treat such ametropia in accordance with the latest knowledge. The focus of orthoptists is mainly on prevention, diagnosis and therapy of:
- Strabismus
- Amblyopia
- Disorders of eye movement
- Nystagmus
Ametropia, strabismus, anisometropia and amblyopia of children
Eye disorders like severe ametropia, above all if both eyes deliver different images to the brain (anisometropia), often result in the inability to correctly combine these images. In such case, the brain suppresses the vision of one eye - with the effect that this eye becomes weaker and finally amblyopic. A similar behaviour can be observed in case of strabismus. If this disease is detected early, then the strong eye is temporally covered to train the weaker eye (amblyopia treatment).
Microstrabismus (microtropia)
This is an angle deviation of 0,5 - 5,0° - a one-sided inward strabismus - that is often played down as squint. However, if it remains untreated then this malposition - which is hardly visible to the naked eye - will also result in significantly weakened vision and lack of depth perception. This can only be prevented by a very early treatment. Microstrabismus can only be assessed by experienced specialists using differentiated examination techniques.
Retinopathy of prematurity (retinal disease)
This disease occurs with premature children who required long-term oxygen supply in the incubator in order to grant maturation of their organs. Due to the oxygen, vessels are uncontrolledly formed on the immature retina and grow into the vitreous body. As this disease may also result in detached retina, the respective premature children are usually also observed by ophthalmologists.
Inherent cataract
The Brücker test detects an inherent clouding of the lens with one out of 1,500 babies; such clouding may require surgery already during the first weeks of life.
Inherent glaucoma
Enlarged cornea/eyeballs of babies may indicate an inherent glaucoma, which represents a danger to proper development of vision. In such case, an ophthalmologist should measure intraocular pressure as soon as possible to be able to perform corresponding treatment.
Retinoblastoma (retinal cell tumour)
The retinoblastoma is a malignant tumour initiating from genetically modified retinal cells. This disease affects one out of 15,000 children - usually at an age of less than 5 years. If the tumour is detected early, then the tumour can be destroyed and the eye can be saved.