Table of contents:
- The most common types of congenital eye defects
- 1. Congenital cataract
- 2. Congenital glaucoma
- 3. Retinoblastoma
- 4. Retinopathy of Prematurity
- 5. Congenital Dacryocystocele
The period of pregnancy is the most sacred period for optimal child growth and development. Therefore, it is not an easy matter for parents to realize the fact that their babies are born with disabilities. One of the most common congenital defects found in newborns is eye and vision defects. What are they?
The most common types of congenital eye defects
1. Congenital cataract
So far, you might think that cataracts only occur in people who are old. However, it turns out that newborn babies can also suffer from cataracts. Cataracts that occur from birth are called congenital cataracts.
Symptoms are similar to cataracts in adults, namely the eye lens is cloudy that looks like a grayish spot on the pupil of the baby's eye. The eye lens serves to focus the light entering the eye towards the retina, so that the eye can capture images clearly. However, if a cataract occurs, the light rays that enter the eye become scattered when passing through the cloudy lens, so the image received by the eye becomes blurry and blurry.
In addition, signs of cataracts in babies can be seen from the response of their eyes. Your little one may be insensitive to the surrounding environment. For example, the baby doesn't turn around when someone is next to him, or the baby's eye movements are unusual.
Congenital cataracts are usually caused by:
- Intrauterine infections (infections in the mother that transmit to the fetus), such as TORCH infection - toxoplasma, rubella, cytomegalovirus, and herpes simplex.
- Metabolic disorders.
- Other birth defects, such as Down syndrome.
Although not all cases of congenital cataracts can interfere with the baby's vision, some cases can get worse and cause premature blindness. The problem is, often congenital cataracts are not detected until after several months of the baby's life.
2. Congenital glaucoma
Glaucoma is damage to the nerves of the eye that causes vision problems and blindness. Generally, glaucoma is caused due to high pressure in the eyeball.
Glaucoma is more common in elderly people. However, this condition can be a congenital eye defect due to genetic disorders, structural abnormalities of the eye (such as the iris and / or cornea that is not formed optimally in the womb), to accompanying symptoms of other birth defects such as Down syndrome and Edwards syndrome.
Symptoms of congenital glaucoma can be detected from the baby's eyes that are often watery, very sensitive to light, and eyelids that often twitch.
3. Retinoblastoma
Retinoblastoma is the most common eye cancer in children. This cancer originates from young retinal cells or is known as the retinoblast. Although this cancer is a genetic disorder, 95% of retinoblastoma patients do not have a family history of cancer.
The most common signs are cat's eye reflex or leukokoria, namely the pupil of the eye that reflects back bright light when flashed by light. This symptom occurred in 56.1% of children born with retinoblastoma. In addition, retinoblastoma can also cause crossed eyes (strabismus). This is caused by visual disturbances that occur in children.
4. Retinopathy of Prematurity
Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is a congenital eye defect caused by impaired retinal blood vessel formation. This condition tends to be found in babies born prematurely.
Fetal retinal blood vessels begin to form at 16 weeks of gestation and will only reach all parts of the retina at the age of 1 month after birth. In premature babies, there is a disturbance in the formation of blood vessels which can cause part of the retina not to get enough oxygen, and eventually it is damaged.
5. Congenital Dacryocystocele
Congenital dacryocystocele is a congenital eye defect that occurs due to a blockage in the nasolacrimal duct, which is the channel that drains tears into the nose. These channels function to drain the tears so as not to cause the eyes to become watery under normal conditions.
A blockage in this duct can cause tears to accumulate excessively in it, forming a sac. When these ducts become infected, it is known as darcyocystitis.
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