With the arrival of a newborn, you certainly experience a great deal of happiness. However, with it comes some anxiety and the constant fear of 'what if'. Parents are always worried about their kids but newly turned parents stand to be quite more worried and they often panic over their baby's health. As a newborn, the baby will experience quite a few health problems many of which might not be major ones to worry about.
One such anxiety causing matter happen to be the eye problems in the infants. Parents get worried seeing the baby facing vision problems. They fail to figure out why their child had to face such a painful thing. Well, eye problems in babies are quite common. Also, these can be cured easily with the right medical treatment. To calm down your anxiety, we have here got a list of some common eye problems in infants along with their possible treatments. Have a look:
The 3 common eye problems affecting your infant:
1. Conjunctivitis or Pink Eye
Conjunctivitis in the babies chiefly occurs because of a viral or bacterial infection or owing to a blocked tear duct.
The Symptoms
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Excessive tears.
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Red and swollen eyelids
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Watery or thick discharge from eye
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White parts of eyes turn red
The Treatment
Antibiotic Eye Drops: Antibiotics attack the bacteria. If your little one has conjunctivitis, apply antibiotics several times in a day, until the symptoms go away. They are available as eye drops but don't use any without consulting a child eye doctor.
Gentle Warm Massage: You can even try giving your baby a gentle warm massage in between the eye and the nasal area. This helps if the conjunctivitis is caused due to a blocked tear duct. Take a clean cloth soaked in warm water and gently press it between your infant's nasal and eye area. Doing this 3-5 times a day will open the clogged gland thereby draining out a white or yellow discharge.
Salt Water: Add a pinch of salt in a cup of boiling water. Cool down the water till it turns lukewarm. Dip a cotton ball in it and apply gently on baby's eyelids. This also provides relief.
2. Falsely Misaligned Eyes (Pseudostrabismus)
Your infant’s eyes will look crossed, but happen to be straight actually. This condition is caused due to wide nasal bridge.
The Symptoms
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Eyes appear crossed
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The baby sees in side gazes
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The Treatment
In most of the cases, this condition in the infants doesn't need any medical treatment. However, do consult an eye specialist just to ensure there are no complications.
3. Amblyopia or Lazy Eye
This generally happens in one eye and can be caused by anything that can blur the vision like a camera flash, etc.
The Symptoms
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Eyes wander apart
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Lack of depth perception
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The Treatment
It's easily curable if detected at early stage. It can block the vision development in the affected eye if is left untreated.
Take great care of your baby's eyes and if you notice any unusual change in the eye or the baby shows signs of discomfort in the eyes, don't panic. Understand the symptoms of the eye problems and speak to a doctor before taking any remedy whether medical or homemade!