A very Happy Thanksgiving from the team at University Children’s Eye Center! We hope you all have an enjoyable holiday ahead of you.
As always, our goal is to promote healthy eyes and proper ophthalmic care among children by bringing the best and most pertinent content to parents. As such, we’ve compiled another collection of tips and updates to help you close out your year in the healthiest way possible.
Understanding Exotropia
When should you schedule an eye exam for your child? If you notice that one or both of their eyes is not looking straight, or is occasionally drifting outward, it’s probably a good time to see a specialist.
“Often it’s a condition called intermittent exotropia,” says Dr. Sepideh Rousta of University Children’s Eye Center, “‘intermittent’ meaning it only occurs once in a while; ‘exotropia’ meaning it drifts outward rather than crossing inward. This is a very common misalignment in children.”
Once the child is connected with a specialist, treatment can begin through the simple act of observation. Follow-up treatments can include patching, glasses, prescriptions, or, in severe cases, or ones that worsen over the years, eye muscle surgery.
“But regardless,” says Dr. Rousta, “this should trigger a full eye exam, because occasionally there’s a more serious internal issue to the eye, like a cataract or some type of tumor that might cause the eye to drift.”
Moral of the story: if you suspect an eye misalignment, especially if your child is younger than six, a full eye exam should be your next port of call, preferably by a pediatric ophthalmologist or optometrist with expertise and eye misalignment.
Check out the video to learn more.
It’s Diabetes Eye Disease Awareness Month
November might be commonly associated with turkeys and pumpkin pie, but it also happens to be Diabetes Eye Disease Awareness Month, an important reminder to include an annual comprehensive eye exam for your child if they have been diagnosed with diabetes.
Most children who develop diabetes will have Type 1 insulin dependent diabetes. High circulating glucose/sugar levels in the blood stream can cause damage to the smallest blood vessels, including the ones that carry blood to a critical part of the eye called the retina.
An important blood test that reflects the level of glucose control over the past few months is called the hemoglobin A1C (HgA1c). A high HgA1c over time puts the retinal vessels at risk for damage and leakage. This can result in swelling or edema in the macula, the part of the retina responsible for our central vision. Over time, lack of proper oxygen delivery to the retina can lead to proliferation of new, abnormal retinal vessels, which can bleed easily and/or cause traction and detachments in the retina. These complications can lead to visual loss.
The good news is that many complications of diabetic eye disease can be treated if caught early. This is why an annual dilated eye exam is so important for diabetics of any age. More good news is the fact that most children will not develop diabetic retinopathy before puberty. But the risk goes up with:
Having diabetes 7 years or more
Puberty
Continued elevated HgA1c
At UCEC, we work with your child’s endocrinologist to diagnose and treat any ocular complications of diabetes through a thorough dilated eye exam and high definition retinal photography.
We hope that one day there will be a cure for diabetes. Until then, early vigilance is the best option to preserve great vision! And that is something we can all be thankful for.
Practitioner Spotlight: Dr. Nidhi Rana, M.S., O.D.
Dr. Nidhi Rana is a pediatric optometrist at University Children’s Eye Center, as well as the World’s Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. She is trained to see children who range in age from newborns to 18 years old.
Dr. Rana specializes in the treatment of amblyopia, the detection and treatment of high refractive areas in very young children, and orthoptics. Additionally, she treats cases of strabismus, also known as crossed eyes or “lazy eyes”, and handles specialized contact lenses, including medically necessary lenses for children as young as four weeks old.
Dr. Rana has received numerous awards during her training, including the Professor G. Kannian Prize for physical optics, the V. Iyer prize in contact lenses, the induction into the National Residence Honorary Society, and the Best Program award as a pediatric resident. She has lectured at conferences worldwide, including in Singapore, Australia, India, and the Philippines.
Play the video to learn more about Dr. Rana and her practice.
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