My 3 months old baby's vision has not developed. Why?

Question

Hi doctor,

My daughter is three months old now. We got her examined by an eye specialist this week, but the doctor said that her vision is not yet developed, so she cannot see or differentiate colors. As per the doctor's examination, my daughter's eyeballs, retina, etc., are fine, but the eyeball link to the brain has not yet developed. Our parents are concerned and wish to know what we should do in this situation. Is this normal? Can the vision develop in the future? If yes, how long do we need to wait? We seek this consultation as a second expert opinion and advice.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

What are the symptoms that the child has? Does she have nystagmus or oscillating movements of the eye? Does the child grab the toys presented to her? Is the size of her eyes smaller than usual or cross-eyed or squint? Was only a routine examination done for her? Physiologically or normally, a child's vision develops rapidly between six weeks to six months of age, followed by a slower development till six years, after which it is complete. So, if any symptoms mentioned above are absent, we expect improvement in the child's vision. However, if she suffers from optic nerve or neurological or global developmental problems, an opinion of a pediatric ophthalmologist in conjunction with a pediatrician is necessary. The first step would be to find if the child had any refractive error or glass number and correct it. The second step would be to assess vision, which is done by a specialized test known as Cardiff count for preverbal children). Flash VEP (visually evoked potential) is another test that will give us semiquantitative proof of vision. Can I upload any of these reports? This will help us to conclude about any actual problem.

I hope this information will help you.

Thanks.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

Also, consult a pediatrician if possible. We can review the outcome once the tests are done.

I hope this information will help you.

Thanks.