9 Risk Factors for Poor Vision in Children

Vision problems are often associated with adults but children can be affected by vision problems as well and there are several risk factors that can increase the likelihood that a child will develop vision problems.

Below is a list of 9 risk factors associated with vision problems in children:

1. Anisometropia: This occurs when the eyeglass prescription between the two eyes is so different that it interferes with normal binocular vision

2. Strabismus: This is an improper alignment of the eyes in which they point in different directions. The child's brain suppresses the double image, resulting in poor vision for one or both eyes.

3. Severely high eyeglass prescription need: The eye is overly long or short, which causes a problem focusing light accurately onto the retina.

4. A mother who has a difficult or assisted labor associated with fetal distress.

5. Cortical visual impairment (CVI): This is the most common cause of permanent visual impairment in children. Children who do not have normal visual responses to people's faces or objects can be tested for CVI.

6. Maternal use of cigarettes, alcohol or drugs during pregnancy can raise the risk of visual problems. Many women who are trying to get pregnant continue to drink or smoke until they discover they are already pregnant.

7. Maternal infection during pregnancy with diseases such as rubella, toxoplasmosis, herpes, HIV or cytomegalovirus can also increase visual problem risk.

8. Low birth weight, premature birth or prolonged use of supplemental oxygen after birth. Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a higher risk when premature babies require oxygen in the neonatal ICU.

9. Family history of retinoblastoma, congenital cataracts, myopia or amblyopia.