Why should newborns undergo eye screening?

The vision health of newborns is very important, and eye care must be done from an early age. So why do newborns need eye screening? What are the precautions for newborn eye care? The following editor will introduce you in detail.

Why do newborns need eye screening?

The incidence of congenital eye abnormalities and lesions in newborns is as high as 10-20%. Some of them can cause vision loss, such as congenital cataracts and corneal leukoplakia; some can cause blindness, such as congenital glaucoma and retinopathy of prematurity; some can even cause death, such as retinoblastoma.

There are many factors that cause congenital eye abnormalities and lesions in newborns, including genetic factors and environmental factors. Whether the newborn is full-term, premature, asphyxiated, underweight, receiving oxygen, or having systemic diseases, etc., all of which can affect eye development and thus visual function.

The purpose of newborn eye disease screening is to detect risk factors for decreased vision and visual development, and to detect congenital cataracts, congenital glaucoma, retinopathy of prematurity and other lesions as early as possible. Early detection, early intervention, and early treatment can provide good help for the normal development of children.

Newborn eye care precautions

Infection prevention: Babies should have their own special washbasin and towel, and disinfect them regularly. Do not use adult handkerchiefs or hands to wipe the baby's eyes. When cleaning the baby's eyes, soak several cotton balls in water, squeeze out the water, and use a new cotton ball for each eye, wiping from the inner corner to the outer corner. Also pay attention to wiping off secretions in time. If there is too much secretion, use a sterilized cotton swab or towel to deal with it.

Anti-glare: Babies need to get enough sleep, so generally you don’t need to turn on the lights. If you need to turn on the lights, don’t make them too strong, and try not to let the light shine directly, so as to avoid irritating the eyes and affecting the baby’s sleep.

When babies go outdoors, they should prevent the sun from shining directly into their eyes. Flash photography should not be used when taking photos of infants and young children because the strong light from the flash can damage the retina.

Prevent sleeping position: The baby's sleeping position should be changed frequently, and the baby should not sleep on one side for a long time. Some mothers always let the baby sleep beside them or in the bed, so that the baby always looks in the direction of the mother, which will form strabismus after a long time.

Anti-fatigue: Long-term, close-range eye use will cause children's vision to plummet. During this period, special attention should be paid to limiting the time children spend doing close-range work. Generally, each time should not exceed 30 minutes. Often take your baby to look into the distance and guide your baby to try to identify a target in the distance. This will help relax the eye muscles and prevent myopia.

Prevent foreign objects: Babies’ blink reflex is not yet fully developed, so it is also important to prevent foreign objects from entering their eyes. For example, the environment in which babies live should be clean and moist. When cleaning, babies should be taken away in time. When babies are lying in bed, do not clean the bed to prevent flying dust or dust on the bed from entering the baby’s eyes. When bathing, you should also pay attention to avoid bath gel irritating the eyes. Prevent dust and small insects from entering the eyes. Once foreign objects enter the eyes, do not rub them with your hands, but use a clean cotton swab dipped in warm water to rinse the eyes.