My child says: “everything is blurred” and “I see double”

Blurred vision mainly evokes a refractive disorder, this means that the child needs glasses. Myopia causes blurred vision at a distance, hyperopia affects near vision, and astigmatism often affects both near and far vision.

Myopia

Myopia is a refractive disorder presents with blurred vision. The myopic child has, by definition, an overly long eye which will form an image in front of the retina. As a result, their far vision is affected.

There are different treatments to allow the child to maintain good vision. The wearing of glasses with optical correction is among the most common. Depending on the child’s age, a prescription for contact lenses can provide a solution. 

Hyperopia 

Hyperopia is one of the visual disorders responsible for blurred vision. A hyperopic child tends to compensate by a visual effort of focusing, called accommodation. This effort of accommodation can cause an impression of visual fatigue and tired eyes. 

Hyperopia is the opposite of myopia: near vision is affected. Like myopia, it is possible to correct this anomaly by wearing glasses. Using glasses, the child will be able to see close-up again and his vision will be clearer. 

Astigmatism 

Astigmatism is a visual disorder that can also cause blurred vision and vision problems. An astigmatic child has a corneal irregularity that can cause headaches and blurred and distorted vision at all distances. 

If in doubt, your ophthalmologist can carry out a refraction and visual acuity test to obtain a reliable measurement of astigmatism. It is important to quickly detect this vision disorder in order to avoid amblyopia.

The presence of double vision is a symptom that should not be overlooked, since it indicates either a problem of refraction or a loss of parallel axis of the eyes. It is therefore important to determine the cause in order to manage it appropriately. We advise you to bring your child to an ophthalmologist to carry out a visual assessment.