Family Eye Care and Children's Eye Center of New Mexico

Children, like adults, can develop cataracts for various reasons. Cataracts are cloudy areas in the lens of the eye. When people have cataracts the light cannot get into the eye clearly and there is lots of glare. Just as you cannot see well out of your windshield when it is dirty, cataract patients cannot see well through their cloudy lens. Their vision is worse in bright light.

Some children are born with cataracts. This can be a very severe vision threatening condition. If not treated in the first few weeks of life, these children may never learn to see properly.

Eye injuries can also cause cataracts. Children may also develop a cataract when they have a genetic or medical problem. Children with cataracts may often need to see other medical specialists to find out if they have a medical problem causing their cataract. Other medical specialists your child might see include a hormone specialist (endocrinologist) or a genetics specialist.

Eye surgery is one way to treat cataracts. Sometimes, in older children, it is possible to place a new plastic lens in the eye to replace the old lens. In young infants the current science tells us it is not good to put in a new lens as this may lead to other problems with the eye. If the cataract is not causing much vision loss, then sometimes it is best NOT to do eye surgery. Usually patching of the good eye is necessary when a child has a cataract.

After cataract surgery, most children will need glasses or contact lenses. This will give them the best possible vision after surgery. All children need patching of the good eye after cataract surgery to “retrain” the brain how to use the eye again. If a child does not wear the glasses, contact lens or patch, then the vision will not get better. This type of vision loss, called amblyopia, may be permanent.

Click on the link below for more information on pediatric cataracts.
http://www.aapos.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=248