Pediatric ophthalmology is a subspecialty of ophthalmology that focuses on children's eyes, vision, and visual development. Pediatric ophthalmologists, or children's eye doctors, diagnose, treat, and prevent diseases that affect children's eyes and vision.

Every child should undergo a comprehensive eye examination yearly, or at least before they get enrolled in a school. There are conditions such as Refractive Error and Amblyopia which can go unnoticed if not tested for specifically at a very early age. Young children who are under the age of 5 years are vulnerable to these kinds of problems as they cannot express themselves. Hence periodic eye check-up is advisable for this age group. It becomes even more essential for children to undergo early screening if they have a family history of having some eye problems.

Some signs that your child may have an eye problem are:

1. If child watches books and blackboard from close distance
2. Rubs eyes frequently
3. Watering from eyes while reading
4. Squeezes eyes to see
5. Squinting of eye
6. Adapts a particular head posture to see
7. Fails to finish notes from blackboard when sitting in the last bench
8. Slow in reading and writing

1. Refractive Errors: Myopia, hypermetropia, Astigmatism. These are the most common problems of childhood and can be treated by spectacle correction or by the use of contact lens
2. Amblyopia/ Lazy eye: due to uncorrected refractive errors or squint. During the period of eye development (8 years of age), proper eye orientation and refractive error correction is required for the light to be focussed on the retina. If not, vision does not develop to the full extent. This causes the brain to favor the other eye over time, resulting in decreased vision in the affected eye. Early diagnosis and treatment can help prevent long-term problems with vision. Treatments include glasses or contact lens with patching of the better eye to stimulate the eye with poorer vision.
3. Paediatric Cataract: due to genetic or metabolic defect or due to infection and trauma. It needs to be addressed immediately by surgery depending on the extent of lens opacity. If delayed, it leads to Amblyopia