Every little quirky thing that your baby does is such a source of delight – the way she smiles when she looks at you, the way she snuggles into you or the way she tilts her head to look at you… Hold on. That last bit may be a sign of your baby having troubles with her eye sight! So how do you know which of your baby’s habits are just cute quirks and which are possible signs of eye problems in babies? Here’s a quick guide to warning signs of vision problems in infants:

Your Baby’s Eyes Look Different:

• The coloured part (called iris) of both or one of your baby’s eyes looks hazy.
• The black in the centre of your infant’s eye (called the pupil) is white or has white spots. If the pupils are of different sizes or not round, it could be a sign of eye problem in your baby. Or, her photographs may persistently show a white spot instead of the red glare caused by a camera flash.
• One or both of your baby’s eyelids droop giving her a perpetually sleepy look.
• Her eyes are constantly watering.
• Her eyelids are constantly red, swollen or crusted for more than a few days. This could be a sign of an eye infection that needs to be treated immediately by a children’s eye doctor.
• Her eyes wobble or wander (turn way in or way out) even after three months of age, there may be an imbalance of her eye muscles.

Your Baby Acts Differently:

• Your baby gropes about for a toy when you offer it to him.
• He tilts his head at a funny angle to look at something.
• This would be most obvious, but watch out if your baby’s attention is not held by a toy until it is held really close to his face even after 1 month of age. Eye problems may be the reason for your baby to lose interest in his environment. In the first 3 months, your baby may not see much past your face. However, after 3 months, if your baby continues to not notice you when you are a little far away or does not follow a toy when it is moved from side to side in front of him, you know you need to see the best children’s eye doctor in your vicinity.
• Your baby is constantly rubbing his eyes (even when he is not sleepy).
• He cries or is very sensitive to light, it may be a sign of high eye pressure.

If you have noticed any of the above, you now know that these could be signs of your baby having eye problems. Do not hesitate to visit your children’s eye doctor at the earliest. Children’s eye doctors have a way of finding out if your baby has vision problems despite the fact that babies cannot express what they feel.

Dr Prachi Agashe, is a children’s eye doctor in Kurla, Mumbai with a special fellowship training in paediatric ophthalmology. She has a vast experience in detecting and treating vision problems in babies like refractive errors, eye infections, nystagmus, squint etc. She can be consulted at Agashe Paediatric SuperSpeciality Care, or she can be reached at 022 42435000 and emailed at contactus@agashehospital.com