Child Have Ocular Albinism? 2 Vision Problems They Will Have

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If you have a child with ocular albinism, they will have some vision problems. This is because there are problems with the nerve connections behind your child's retinas. Their eyes are also very light in color, which can result in problems. Below are some problems you may find happen with your child's eyes, and how you can help them.

Photosensivity

People that have ocular albinism have no pigment in their eyes. This results in them being very sensitive to the sun and any bright lights. Your child's eye doctor can help with this problem by prescribing glasses that have special lenses that will reduce their sensitivity to the sun, as well as protect their eyes from the sun's harmful rays. The doctor may also have a tint and special filters applied to the lenses to help reduce the sun's harmful rays even more.

Your child should also always wear a hat with a large brim when outside to protect their eyes even more.

Vision Problems

Many people with ocular albinism are either hyperopic (farsighted) or myopic (nearsighted). Many people also have astigmatism.  Farsightedness is due to either your child's eye lens not being round enough, or their eye is too short.

If they are nearsighted, your child's eye is longer, which causes the image they are looking at to focus in front of the retina instead of behind it, where the focus should be.

Despite these problems, the eye doctor can help refractive errors of farsightedness, nearsightedness, or astigmatism by prescribing contact lenses or glasses. Before they do this, they may have a low vision specialist perform a refraction test to measure the amount of error. This will allow your doctor to give your child the correct prescription for glasses or contacts. In some cases, the doctor may suggest surgery to correct vision problems.

A low vision specialist can also help your child to drive if they are old enough. They do this by using a bioptic telescopic system, which is known as bioptic driving. This will allow your child to see lights and signs while they are driving much better.

Other treatment of vision problems may include colored contact lenses, reading lights, magnifiers, reading glasses, and monoculars.

If your child uses a computer, there are screen magnification products they can use to help them see the screen better. You can likely purchase these products through your eye doctor. If not, they can probably tell you where you can purchase them. Speak with a center like Spectacle Shoppe, Inc. to learn more.


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