How To Keep Your Baby’s Eyes Safe And Healthy

As my friends and me were appreciating the impressive eyes of my another friend’s newborn, my thoughts went to how we could as responsible parents look after the eyes of our babies to keep them safe and healthy. Our babies eyes are the most sensitive part of the body and a little attention could go a long way to make them cared for.

Here are a few simple tips that would help:

 
1) It is significant to know that newborns have a limited vision at birth and with time they are able to see the world in a better light; it is very important to protect the eyes of newborns and young children from harsh chemicals and environment pollutants like excessive dust, polluted air, chemical vapors and smoke that could affect them and leave them with eye troubles for the rest of their lives.

2) According to ophthalmologists it is best to keep the eyes of a newborn clean of mild yellowish discharge that newborns secrete from the corner of their eyes. Make sure you clean the baby’s eyes with clean cotton swabs that have been boiled, cooled and dipped in warm water; however ensure you do not rub the baby’s eyes constantly with tissues or damp cloth.

3) Parents would do best to be vigilant and take preventive measures to not give babies and young children sharp objects like pens, pencils, knives, forks and other similar items; keeping them out of reach of infants and toddlers would prevent accidental eye injuries that could also result in severe visual impairment.

4) Parents should make sure they use brightly colored toys to engage the baby’s attention when he/she starts crawling; this would help in vision stimulation and hand eye coordination.

5) Ensuring that your newborn or baby’s eyes are healthy and safe also means checking if the baby’s eyes are well aligned; any squinting, shaky, wiggling or misalignment of eyes beyond the age of 3 to 4 months requires consultation with a pediatric ophthalmologist.

6) According to pediatric ophthalmologists it is best to give babies a healthy diet that supplies all the necessary vitamins and minerals; vitamin deficiencies could damage the eye also.

7) Delay in the baby achieving motor milestones such as balance of the neck, sitting upright or crawling may indicate an associated visual problem; make sure you have the eyes of the baby checked for early intervention.  

8) Consultation with a pediatric ophthalmologist would be required in case of whitish reflex in the pupils instead of normal black shadow, very large eyes, intense watering, redness and yellow discharge.

9) Keep away from the myth of applying cosmetic products like kohl or kajal; the chemicals in them could cause allergic reactions to the sensitive eyes of the baby.

10) Parents need to pay special attention if their baby is pre-maturely born; schedule an eye examination with a pediatric ophthalmologist when the baby is one month old for retinal problems and follow it up with a check-up after the 6th and 8th month to look for squint or cross eye.

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