Symptoms in babies and toddlers
Since astigmatism is in most cases a congenital impairment of vision, it is particularly important to test a child’s vision at a very young age in order to determine and adequately treat any astigmatism. Of course, the character, nature and development of each child is different, but some of them stand out because they always seem to be a little clumsier than their peers. For example, they more often stumble over small bumps in the ground or doorsills or reach into the void when they want to reach for an object.
This is often not only due to clumsiness, there could also be an undiscovered visual defect behind it, which makes it very difficult for the child to perceive its surroundings as they actually are, since these children tend to have distorted and blurred vision. If the blurred vision occurs both at a distance and at close range, it is most likely a corneal curvature, a so-called congenital astigmatism.Due to the distorted perception of the environment, even the simplest everyday tasks become a real challenge for the child: picking things up, bringing the spoon straight to the mouth or placing the glass on the table without damage. It is extremely important to have children examined for astigmatism at an early age so that they can be treated as early as possible and corrected with appropriately sharpened lenses.
When asking whether astigmatism is present, parents should always bear in mind that the child will not necessarily complain about reduced vision, since astigmatism is usually congenital and does not increase or decrease in strength. Therefore, attention should be paid if the baby or toddler blinks or squints their eyes disproportionately often, complains of headaches or burning eyes or is particularly sensitive to light. If the child then comes into contact with picture books, one should pay attention to whether it “sticks its nose to the book”, because in most cases astigmatism is associated with a refractive error of the eyes, i.e. short- or long-sightedness.
In babies, the following early warning signs should be paid particular attention to: Strabismus, changes in the eyelid, a clouding of the cornea, pupils that are not completely black, and trembling, yellowish, inflamed or watery eyes. In toddlers and schoolchildren, frequent rubbing of the eyes, frequent stumbling or a rather unsteady gait, the aforementioned close proximity of objects to the eyes (or vice versa) and increasing difficulty in seeing as soon as it gets a little darker are all signs that point the way ahead. Even if the very young are not yet able to understand, let alone follow, the instructions of the pediatrician or eye specialist, it is still possible to check their vision, for example with the so-called Book Candy Test.
Here, small balls of sugar are placed on the hand, which the child should follow with the eyes and also reach for them safely – even if one of the two eyes is covered. If the child manages to do this without any problems, this speaks for the child’s eyesight. If not, this could be due to astigmatism.
