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Ask Dr. Sue
NIGHTLIGHTS AND DEVELOPING EYESIGHT
Dear Dr. Sue,
A friend recently told me that the night-light I have in
my baby's room might be hurting his eyes. Is this
true? My older children all used night-lights, and
they don't have any problems, but they are only 5 and 7
years old so far. I have the night-light turned
off until I find out the truth!
Concerned Mom
Dear Mom,
There WAS a study (one and only one) done
at the University of Pennsylvania, that made it appear
as though children who had a night-light in their room
had an increased risk of myopia, or nearsightedness.
The whole idea came about because it had been noticed
that light exposure affects the growth of the eyeball in
chicks, and nearsightedness comes from an abnormal
eyeball
shape. The study consisted of a questionnaire
asking questions about lighting in the child's room when
they were under two, and then follow-up to determine how
many children in each group
became nearsighted. Only 10 % of children whose
rooms were dark became nearsighted, 34 % of the children
who had a night-light, and 55% of the children who slept
with a room light on. This
is concerning, but definitely does not prove that the
light exposure is the reason for developing
nearsightedness. One possibility is that
nearsighted parents themselves may be more likely to
leave some lights on to help them navigate during the
night, and there does appear to be a hereditary basis
for nearsightedness.
I contacted Dr. Andrea Tongue, a Portland area Pediatric
Ophthalmologist, for her opinion about this issue.
Her answer was that there is no convincing scientific
data that support any concern about nightlights, and
that she does not advise that nightlights be removed.
We will all have to await further studies for more
information!
You are right to pay attention to your children's
vision, however. One in four children between the
ages of 5 and 12 have some degree of visual problems
that can interfere with learning, and with
life in general. How do you know when to be
concerned? Your pediatrician can help, since
examination of the eye is part of every well-child
visit. Beginning at about six months of age, your
pediatrician is looking for specific signs of normal eye
development. By age four, most children can
cooperate with the eye chart test, which helps to more
specifically define how vision is progressing. In
spite of this close follow-up, however, it is often mom
or dad (or a grandparent!) who first notices that
something doesn't seem right.
If your 2 or 3 month old can't make steady eye contact,
or if your baby older than 3 months cannot follow an
object with her eyes, that should be brought to your
pediatrician's attention. If her eyes seem to be
crossed or wandering more often, instead of less often,
by six months of age, bring this up as well.
The following list gives you an idea of common symptoms
of eye problems in older children:
1. Nearsightedness - Your child may squint or look
tense when he looks at far objects, complain of not
being able to see well at night, or may tell you that
when he looks at things close up he can't see them well.
He may always sit close to the TV (though children often
sit close just to feel more involved). He may
avoid sports.
2. Farsightedness - He may complain
of headaches, fatigue, burning eyes or nausea,
especially after doing close work. He may also
avoid reading and other close work as much as possible.
3. Astigmatism (which is when the
surface of the eye is misshapen) - chronic headaches,
rubbing of the eyes, fatigue, squinting are common
signs.
4. Strabismus (wandering eye) - you may notice
that your child's eyes don't always seem to be looking
in the same direction, especially when she's tired.
She may sometimes tilt her head to one side to use one
eye preferentially.
5. Nystagmus - Your child's eyes flutter quickly
from side-to-side or up-and-down.
More general symptoms that MAY be related to visual
problems: frequent daydreaming, blinking excessively,
unusual fatigue after reading, difficulty remembering
what is read, difficulty going
up and down stairs, or throwing or catching a ball,
difficulty buttoning or unbuttoning clothing or tying
shoes (beyond what is developmentally expected).
Some children who aren't seeing well also hold their
pencils very tightly, move their paper around frequently
when writing, and have very sloppy handwriting.
If you have noticed any of the above
signs, contact your pediatrician!
 
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