Eye Care News

Fireworks are a ubiquitous presence among Fourth of July celebrations; however, these bright and colorful displays pose a danger to children who may want to handle these dangerous products.

WASHINGTON — Firearms-related ocular injuries disproportionately affect boys, adolescents and blacks, according to a poster presented at the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus meeting.

WASHINGTON — Motion perception deficits were present in the sound eye of some amblyopic children, even though visual acuity was normal, according to a speaker. However, such deficits were mild or absent in children who underwent patch therapy at a younger age, Eileen E. Birch, PhD, told colleagues at the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus meeting.

Gary A. Smith

All infants with suspected congenital Zika syndrome have been found to have vision impairment, S. Grace Prakalapakorn, MD, PhD, assistant professor of ophthalmology and pediatrics at Duke University, said during the Zika Virus and Your Eyes webinar hosted by Prevent Blindness.

Trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide, has been eliminated as a public health problem in Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, according to a WHO press release.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that clinicians screen children for amblyopia or its risk factors at least once while the child is between 3 and 5 years of age, according to a report just released from JAMA.

According to the organization Friends for Sight, thousands of children experience an eye injury annually, but 90% of these mishaps can be prevented by wearing suitable protective eyewear.

Researchers determined that eye injuries in young children from single-use liquid detergent pods are increasing, according to data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System.

A 3-week-old boy presents with a red and swollen left eye. His history is that of a 34-week premature, born via uncomplicated vaginal delivery with Apgar scores of 8 and 9, and he remained in the NICU for 1 week due to prematurity. The only NICU complication was physiologic jaundice, which was treated with phototherapy.