Signs of vision disorders

Identifying vision disorders in babies is very important. Poor vision can slow a child's development in a variety of ways. In adults, untreated vision disorders can dramatically affect function and wellbeing.

Behaviors in infants or children that may be telling you about poor vision:

• Doesn't blink at sudden bright lights
• Doesn't respond to familiar faces, but does to familiar voices
• Not interested in books, TV, brightly colored toys
• Ignores silent objects, but does turn toward noisy ones
• Doesn't reach for things placed in front of them
• Doesn't move about very much
• Squints or tilts head to see better

Adult behaviors that may communicate about vision disorders:

• Doesn't make or maintain eye contact
• No longer recognizes people
• Finds lighting too bright or too dim
• Has trouble seeing in dimly lit rooms
• Holds reading materials too close to eyes, or at arm's length
• Changes leisure time activities
• No longer enjoys television
• Often bumps into things; moves about cautiously
• Squints or tilts the head to see
• Finds it hard to practice table manners
• Often changes eye glass prescriptions
• Over-cautious driver
• Changes personal appearance, less care with grooming

Other factors that may indicate the presence of a vision disorder include:

• Friends, family members are concerned about person's vision
• Family history of vision problems
• Headache, nausea
• Crossed eyes, eyes that don't focus together, jerky eye movements
• Eyes are red, irritated: dry, itchy, burning, watery, painful; eyelids red-rimmed, crusty, swollen
• Vision is blurred, double; seeing spots, haloes, faint images
• Change in eye color (the iris)
• Eyes stick out too much or seem shrunken or too small
• Pupils look white, milky, have spots
• Pupils are different sizes: don't get bigger in the dark and smaller in the light
• When photos are taken, the "red-eye" has blotches, or looks white instead of red
• Eyes don't close all the way when person sleeps
• Diabetes