Children experience many of the same eye-related conditions as adults. Some eye-related conditions, such as vernal conjunctivitis, affect children far more often than adults.

Eye-related problems in children may involve congenital, infectious or allergic conditions or eye injuries. A physician must distinguish among these sources of eye problems to reach an accurate diagnosis and prescribe an effective treatment plan.

Many eye problems in children may be related to injuries or foreign bodies. Other eye problems in children include:

• Refractive errors. Occur when light entering the eye does not focus properly on the retina, causing blurring of sight. Examples include nearsightedness (poor distance vision, also known as myopia), farsightedness (poor near vision, also known as hyperopia or hypermetropia) and difficulty seeing well either up close or far away (abnormal or imperfect curvature of the cornea, also known as astigmatism). In some cases, refractive errors develop into eyestrain or amblyopia. Refractive problems typically are treated with eyeglasses or contact lenses.
  
  
• Amblyopia. Also known as “lazy eye,” it is the result of having crossed eyes or having a difference in refractive error (problem with the eye’s ability to bend light) between the two eyes. Amblyopia is a common and often reversible eye condition in children. It affects children younger than age 7, and 2 to 3 percent of the population has this condition, according to Prevent Blindness America. In amblyopia, the eyes send different messages to the brain. Eventually, the brain turns off the messages of the deviating or nondominant eye, which can lead to impairment of the eye’s development. When identified early – especially by a child’s preschool years – lazy eye can be successfully treated. Left untreated, it can lead to permanent vision loss in the affected eye, because the brain will begin to ignore signals coming from that eye.
  
  
• Strabismus. Also known as “cross eyes,” it involves a misalignment of the eyes that causes them to turn in, out, up or down. This misalignment may be constant, or it may come and go. It is normal for infants to exhibit this pattern, and strabismus typically is not suspected until a child is 4 months old. About 2 percent of children have this condition, with half having it at birth, according to Prevent Blindness America. When an eye is misaligned for a longer period of time, amblyopia may result. Placing a patch over the healthy eye can force the weaker eye to work harder, thereby strengthening it. Surgery or special glasses also are sometimes used to treat this condition.
  
  
• Ptosis. Involves a drooping of the upper eyelid caused by weakness of the muscle responsible for lifting the eyelid, damage to nerves associated with those muscles or looseness of the skin of the upper eyelids. It is often caused by an underlying condition that may be treated, or may itself be treated with surgery.
  
  
• Infectious conjunctivitis. Commonly known as “pink eye,” it is the result of a bacterial or viral infection. It is commonly found in children and usually does not present a major health threat.
  
  
• Giant papillary conjunctivitis. Results from eye contact with a foreign surface, usually contact lenses.
  
  
• Atopic keratoconjunctivitis. Frequently occurs in patients with eczema (noncontagious inflammation of the skin). Left untreated, it can lead to the formation of cataracts and, eventually, blindness. This can affect children, but usually affects those ages 20 to 50 years.
  
  
• Color vision problems. A deficiency in seeing certain colors (e.g., shades of red or green). About 8 percent of boys and less than 1 percent of girls have this condition, according to Prevent Blindness America. It most often is hereditary and is present at birth. There is no treatment.
  
  
• Kawasaki disease. An inflammation of the blood vessels in the body, including the eyes. This affects children exclusively.
  
  
• Retinopathy of prematurity. Disease in which changes in the blood vessels of the eye’s retina permanently impair a child’s vision. It primarily affects infants who are born prematurely and who spend a long time on a ventilator following their birth.
  
  
• Blepharitis. An infection of the eyelids that can cause a prolonged inflammatory response when combined with the overuse of eye drops. It most often affects adults, but can also affect children.
  
  
• Uveitis. Potentially sight-threatening swelling that may involve some or all inflammatory processes of the middle layers of the eye, also called the uveal tract or uvea. Usually affects adults, but the risk of blindness increases in children who have uveitis.
  
  
• Infantile cataracts. Clouding of the eye’s lens that sometimes occurs in newborns. Surgery typically is used to treat this condition.
  
  
• Congenital glaucoma. Rare, inherited form of glaucoma (high eyeball pressure that damages the optic nerve) that appears in newborns. It occurs when the eye drainage canals develop abnormally during a child’s prenatal period. Medications or surgery may be used to treat this condition.
  
  
• Retinoblastoma. Malignant tumor of the eye that usually appears by age 3. Loss of vision and whiteness of the pupil are typically associated with this disorder. Laser surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are all used to treat this condition.
  
  
• Diabetic retinopathy. Condition that occurs when diabetes causes damage to the tiny blood vessels in the retina. Symptoms are typically not noticeable until damage is severe, which may not occur for years.
  
  
• Congenital blindness. Involves blindness that is present at birth. It can be inherited or caused by an infection (such as measles) transmitted from the mother to the fetus during pregnancy. It may also relate to other conditions such as prematurity or developmental disabilities also present at birth.
  
  
• Other genetic or metabolic eye diseases. These are conditions that make certain eye problems – such as retinoblastoma or cataracts – more likely. If genetic or metabolic eye diseases are detected, it is likely that the child will be required to undergo more frequent examinations.

Allergies also can cause eye problems in children. Examples of eye-related conditions include:

• Allergic conjunctivitis. This is a hypersensitivity of the eye to certain allergens that may be seasonal or perennial (occurring throughout the year).
  

  

• Vernal conjunctivitis. An eye allergy that affects children far more than adults. This is a condition that arises in the spring and summer and occurs at least twice as often in males as it does in females. It is suspected that allergies trigger the condition. Vernal conjunctivitis tends to flare in the spring and fall in dry, warm climates, but lasts year-round in some children. It usually disappears during puberty.