Not only adults but babies and children can also get cataracts. When your child has a cataract condition then the only appropriate treatment is removing it with the help of surgery.

Probable causes

Your child might have developed the problem after the birth or have been born with a cataract. The are many possible causes such as eye injury, diabetes, hereditary, steroids, pregnancy complications, or eye problems

Cataract detection

Spotting cataracts with naked eyes is difficult. But if you could see them, they tend to look like a white or grey spot or reflection inside the pupil. If your child says that they can’t see or they see two of everything or they find that the lights are too bright or see a halo effect - then such statements could be considered as some common detectable signs.

Once your child becomes 4 months old, they should be able to look around the house, spot things and appropriately track things with their eyes. If they can’t, immediately contact the best cataract eye specialist in Mumbai and visit the hospital for further checkups and examinations.  

One of the general ways to detect is by checking their eye alignment. If they don’t look in the same direction then their eyes are misaligned. 

The treatment procedure

When a cataract grows in size and starts severely affecting your child’s eyesight it becomes extremely important to opt for cataract surgery in Mumbai as soon as possible before it turns worse. If not treated immediately then it might badly affect your child’s vision capabilities later in life. 

In the case of amblyopia, your child tends to develop a condition where he/she has cataracts in both eyes or one eye cataract turns out to be worse than the other. Such conditions can be treated by the cataract eye specialist with proper diagnosis and treatment.  

During the operation, the doctor will provide your child with general anesthesia, so that they don’t feel anything while being operated on. Doctors use special medical tools, equipment, and instruments to break up the lens, later with the help of a very small incision they remove the cataract. 

It has been found that after successful cataract surgery, most surgeons recommend children to wear eyeglasses for a certain period of time. Such measures will help to heal the eye condition quicker. Before moving forward with the operation procedure, do inquire about the operation cost from the hospital administration department, so that you can prepare yourself financially as well.

The healing process after the Cataract surgery

After providing prescription eye drops and a detailed guideline for applying them, your child will most likely be sent home the same day after the operation is successfully completed. 

Your child might feel uncomfortable after the surgery due to eye itchiness and scratchiness which tend to stay for a few days in older children. However, very young children get over it quickly sometimes within less than a day.

To revive the strength of the operated eye as well as to attain proper functionality of both eyes, your child may have to wear a patch. Based on the different parameters and eye conditions, the doctor will suggest a specific length of time - your child needs to wear the patch. 

Measures should be taken after the surgery

Your child’s vision can be saved if the cataract is treated in the early stages of life. Ensure that you have all your appointments scheduled after surgery so that the doctor could examine the healing process properly. This will help your child see the world clearly, now as well as in the later stages of life. 

Our well-known team of optical surgeons at the Vission Eye Center has a wealth of experience, and has performed multiple successful cataract surgery in Mumbai that helped to improve many lives.