Identifying Symptoms of Infant Blindness - Early Detection Is the Key
Recognizing the signs of infant blindness early on after birth will greatly aid you in taking care of your new baby. It is important to be aware of any health conditions that your baby may have, along with talking with your doctor about investigating how severe the condition is and the course of treatment you should take.
Blindness is hard to identify right away in a newborn, and because they have been in the womb, babies don’t have correct vision. It does take some time for infants to get their vision adjusted to the differences between light and darkness when they are newborn, and they can’t automatically focus their eyes when they are first delivered. Babies initially can only see a short distance, which is from the mother’s breast to the face. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but again they are just being introduced to their new world with new surroundings. As time goes by, you will notice that your infant will pay more attention to their surroundings and bright colors. Bright colors are usually recommended for a baby’s room to keep them alert and catch their attention. After a few months, you will notice that they are paying more attention to things a little bit further away.
In order to help identify infant blindness, it is wise to ask for a vision test as soon as your pediatrician thinks it’s possible. The vision test could be something as simple as moving your finger from side to side while really close to their face, and noticing as to whether or not they follow your finger. If they don’t, this could indicate a problem, but trying this too early could also just put you into an unnecessary scare.
One other simple way to identify blindness in your infant, is to try the contrast from light to dark. Sit your infant in a dark room and get really close to their face. Have your spouse turn on the light switch, and watch for a reaction like closing the eyes or even blinking. This is a really good way to test for infant blindess, and they may even seem startled to see you so close to their face.
There is a also a test that many parents aren’t aware of referred to as an “evoked response” or “evoked potential test”. This test has been used to help determine as to whether or not a newborn is suffering from a vision problem, but many doctors won’t do it until they are three months of age. Again, the challenge here lies in the fact that newborns aren’t able to focus their eyes because of their new surroundings, and their ability to see at different distances will change as they get older and have more eye control. A monitor can also be attached to watch the brain activity as different stimuli are being given.
A test you may want to try at two to three months is simply using a pen light. Shining the pen light into your infant’s eyes will cause them to react. The pen light when close to the eye should cause the pupils to dilate, and when they don’t this could identify infant blindness, or some other condition related to their vision. The lack of reaction definitely leads a parent to believe that there is some form of vision impairment, but even if they aren’t blind it may take some time to figure out what it is.
Once your infant begins grabbing certain toys you can certainly try taking a brightly colored toy and moving it up and down and back and forth in front of their eyes. Look for them to follow the toy with their eyes, and this could help you indicate as to whether or not their vision is impaired. Early detection with your infant is the key, and if blindness is not the problem then discuss treatment options with your doctor to improve their vision early in life.