Is vision screening necessary for premature babies?

Is it necessary to do vision screening for premature babies? This is what many families want to know in detail. Because after their children have breakfast, many families are particularly worried that their children are born prematurely, which will cause their children to have poor eyesight. So they want to know in detail whether it is necessary to do vision screening for premature babies? In order for you to understand it as soon as possible, please take a look at the detailed introduction below.

Premature babies are prone to eye diseases such as hyperopia, amblyopia, and retinal detachment during their development, so it is safer to have a check-up. Especially retinal diseases.

A normal eye is a spherical structure. The innermost layer of the eyeball wall is the retina, which is the photosensitive layer through which we see objects. Full-term newborns are usually born 38 weeks into their mother's pregnancy, at which time the various structures in their eyes have basically matured. This is not the case for premature babies, whose retinal blood vessels are prone to lesions, that is, abnormal proliferation in the vitreous body. On the one hand, this abnormal structure blocks light from reaching the retina and affects the transparency of the vitreous body; on the other hand, the proliferative tissue will pull on the retina, causing retinal detachment and leading to blindness in children. This disease often occurs in premature infants, low-birth-weight infants and newborns with a history of oxygen inhalation. It is also one of the important causes of neonatal blindness.

In addition, oxygen inhalation is also a risk factor. In order to save the life of a premature baby, oxygen must be used. Oxygen itself is not toxic. It is mainly the newborn's body's overreaction to high concentrations of oxygen.

Retinopathy of prematurity is divided into 5 stages. Before stage 3, there is still a chance to save vision to varying degrees. There is little hope in stage 4, and no hope at all in stage 5.

The damage caused by retinopathy of prematurity is completely avoidable. If premature babies who are given oxygen undergo ophthalmic monitoring, and especially if they receive surgical treatment during the optimal treatment period, the child's eyes will be no different from those of normal people. However, the time available for treatment is only about two weeks, so it is also called the "time window". Once the "time window" is closed, the child will fall into eternal darkness.

Therefore, early screening and early treatment of premature and low-birth-weight infants are the key to preventing the development of retinopathy of prematurity and reducing the risk of poor vision or even blindness in infants due to the disease.

Is it necessary to do vision screening for premature babies? For many families with premature babies, I believe that through the above introduction, they have gained more knowledge. If your child is born prematurely, you must pass the premature baby vision screening as soon as possible. You can effectively understand your child’s current strength, so you must do vision screening for premature babies.