Cataract in babies and children

You might think that cataracts only happen to older people. But babies and children can get it too.

A cataract is a clouding of the lens of your child's eye. If it is large or dense, it can cause blurred or even blocked vision. Your child may only have cataracts in one eye, or they may have one cataract in each.

Why does my child have a cataract?

Your child may have been born with a cataract. Your doctor may use the word "congenital". This means that the lens did not form properly during pregnancy.

Sometimes congenital cataracts are caused by a chromosomal problem, such as Down syndrome. They can also be hereditary, which means the mother or father of the child can have them.

Or they may be acquired, meaning your baby developed them after birth. There are many possible reasons, including:

Eye injury
Diabetes
Complications from eye problems
Radiation treatment
Steroids

Your doctor may not know for sure why your child has a cataract.

How do I know if my child has it?

You can't always see a cataract. But when you can, they usually look like a white or gray speck or glitter inside the pupil.

It is important to check your child's vision regularly. The sooner you detect a cataract, the better his long-term vision will be. The first vision screening is done when your baby is still a newborn. Her doctor will examine her eyes for cataracts and other problems. She will continue to have vision tests during her infancy and childhood when she has regular exams.

It can be difficult for children to explain vision problems to their parents. They may not even know that something is wrong with their worldview. But when they do, they may say they don't see as well as they used to. They may also say that they see everything (double vision) or that the light is too bright. Maybe they're seeing a reflection or a halo, or the colors just aren't as vibrant as they should be.

By the time your baby is about 4 months old, he should be able to look around the room and follow objects with his eyes. If she can't, ask your doctor to check her eyes.

Another way to tell if your child might have a cataract? If his eyes are displaced, that is, they look in more than one direction.

What is the treatment?

The only treatment for cataracts is surgery to remove them.

If your child's cataract is small and doesn't affect vision, it may not need to be removed. If it affects his vision, it should be removed as soon as possible. Otherwise, his vision may deteriorate in the long run.

Your doctor will give your child a general anesthetic so that he does not wake up and feel nothing during the operation. He will use special tools to break the lens and then remove it through a very small incision.

From there, your doctor has several options:

Artificial lens (still being investigated for use in very young children)
Contact lenses
Eyeglasses (most children need them even after successful surgery)

Sometimes, if your child has cataracts in both eyes—or one was worse than the other—they may develop a condition called amblyopia. This happens when one eye is stronger than the other and is treated by a doctor.

What happens after surgery?

Most likely, you and your child will be able to go home on the same day.

Very young children recover quickly from this surgery and usually bounce back in about a day. Older children may experience mild discomfort for a few days, mainly because their eyes may be itchy or irritated.

Your doctor will send you home with prescription eye drops and instructions on how to give them to your child.

If the cataract was removed from one eye, she may have to wear a bandage on the other. This will help strengthen the operated eye.

How long she will need to wear the patch depends on many different things that your doctor will discuss with you.

Will my child be ok?

Treating your child's cataract early can help preserve his vision.

It is also very important to keep all appointments after surgery. That way, your doctor will be able to make sure she is recovering properly and can see the world clearly—not just now, but well into adulthood.