Baby aged 1 year 3 months seems to have an intermittent squint, especially when he looks far away up. Can an orthoptic assessment be done for a baby aged 1 year 3 months who has intermittent squint? Or should the parent wait until the child is at least four years old?
2 Answers
As soon as someone (often a preschool teacher or parent) notices what may be a vision problem, a screening exam should be scheduled. Interestingly, a child need not be verbal yet to be assessed; at your child's age, computerized photoscreeners and autorefractors can use light and cameras to gauge how well your child can see.
While certain eye problems (or neurological problems affecting the eyes) can be assessed from birth on (your child's health care provider does this at each visit whether they explain what they're doing or not), visual acuity itself can't be assessed accurately by your HCP before the child is fairly verbal. A referral to an optometrist or opthalmologist should be provided on request. If a visual acuity problem is detected, the proper corrective lenses will be prescribed.
answered Apr 13 at 13:44
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if you add that some issues can be corrected if detected early enough so an examination does make sense, I would delete my answer as yours is more on point– LehueApr 13 at 14:06
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@Lehue - I think your answer is as valuable as mine, and you've stated the benefits well. Apr 13 at 14:31
There is a comparably new testing device for infant's eyes that just needs to be pointed to the eyes and creates a complete analysis of the eyes in seconds. The one my paediatrician used is called plusoptix, I don't know if there are other devices like that available. Try asking your paediatrician about this test.
If the test shows abnormal results, it may be possible to treat the visual defect with glasses, which may reduce it over time if administered early enough.
In Germany, you need to pay for this test yourself, about 20€.
