Sudden vision loss is the loss of vision in a few seconds or minutes or over a period of a few days. Basically, any abrupt change in the eye, the visual pathway of light transfer from the eye to the brain, and the portion of the brain that interprets these signals causes this immediate loss of vision. In pediatric patients, sudden visual impairment is periodical while it’s an emergency whenever it occurs. This type of vision loss is a medical emergency that should be properly handled by visiting an ophthalmologist and conducting a series of eye and brain tests. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a commonly associated scanning related to that disorder. The MRI results explain the different factors related to this abrupt vision loss, especially in children under 7 years old.
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Causes of sudden vision loss
There are a number of causes of sudden vision loss in children, while some major causes are explained below;
Eye Trauma (blockage of blood to and from the Retina)
Eye trauma is the leading cause of sudden loss of vision in kids. The direct physical injury of your eye leads to eye trauma. This also affects the surrounding areas like facial skin and bone structure. Eye trauma may lead to sudden vision loss in children because they have soft tissues.
Detached Retina (displaced Retina from its position)
After trauma, the leading cause of sudden vision loss in children is a detached retina. This happens due to other conditions such as; severe myopia or retinopathy of prematurity. Some kids have really thin retinas which can be detached at any time. The symptoms of a detached retina that may appear in your kids are;
- Seeing a dark curtain or shadow around eyes
- Spots
- Sudden blurry vision
- Seeing flashing of lights
Optical nerve inflammation
An accident or any other pressure causes optical nerve damage that carries information from the eyes to the brain; as a result of this damage, these nerves cannot perform a proper function, and the defensive response of inflammation starts with permanent loss of vision.
Ophthalmic Migraine
Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) in end-stage renal failure child. This sudden vision loss is related to hypotension and severe dehydration in a child with continuous peritoneal dialysis. While this vision loss was reversed using fluids to treat dehydration and other medications.
Treatment
You have heard that “prevention is best than cure,” therefore, you should prevent your kids from any injury. Children are careless; they don’t understand things; it’s a pretty challenging task to handle kids when they get an injury.
You should keep an eye on your kid’s health. You should get regular examinations of your children by a pediatrician. If your children got an eye injury or vision loss accidently, visit an eye doctor who choose treatments regarding the type of child disease.
Conclusion
The organs of children are soft and sensitive; therefore, more care is needed. There are many causes that lead to sudden vision loss. Eye trauma, retinal detachment, ophthalmic migraine, and optical nerve inflammation are the main causes of vision loss suddenly. Don’t panic; treatments are available which can cure your kid’s vision.