ATTENTION: Read about our COVID-19 precautionary measures.

Eye Problems We Treat

Pediatric Eye Care of Maryland is equipped to handle a wide variety of eye and vision problems. Our staff of highly trained professionals has years of experience with treating eye problems both simple and complex in an environment that is friendly and welcoming to children.

Some of the most common eye problems we treat include:

  • Amblyopia (“lazy eye”), a condition in which a child’s visual system  gets “stuck” at a fuzzy level due to their brain not “learning” what a sharp image should look like at a young age. There can be various causes for amblyopia, such as strabismus (eye misalignment), refractive errors (need for glasses), or opacities in the front part of the eye.  The most common cause is when one eye has a much different glasses prescription than the other.
  • Strabismus, a condition in which the eyes are misaligned. The eyes can turn inward, outward, or be vertically displaced. They may be misaligned constantly, or only occasionally. There can be many different causes for strabismus.
  • Refractive Errors:
    • Myopia (nearsightedness). A condition in which near objects are seen more clearly than distant objects. Myopia can blur distance vision and adversely affect a child’s school performance. Myopia is easily treated with eyeglasses or contact lenses.
    • Hyperopia (farsightedness). A condition in which distant objects are seen more clearly than near objects. Hyperopia can blur a child’s vision, but it is easily corrected with glasses or contact lenses.
    • Astigmatism, a condition in which the eye is shaped like an oval (football) rather than a sphere (basketball). Objects are seen as blurred and distorted. Astigmatism is easily treated with eyeglasses or contact lenses.
  • Tear duct obstruction. Tears normally drain through small openings in the corners of the upper and lower eyelids called puncta and enter the nose through the nasolacrimal duct. Tear duct obstruction prevents tears from draining through this system normally. If the tear duct is blocked, there will be backflow of tears and discharge from the eye.
  • Chalazion. A chalazion is a localized bump in the eyelid of varying sizes. It can occur on one or both eyes.
  • Conjunctivitis. Also known as pink eye, this is a condition where the eyes look pink or red and may have discharge. Symptoms may include burning, irritation, discharge, or crusting of the lashes. Conjunctivitis is a general term, and needs to be evaluated to determine if it is  infectious (bacterial/viral) or non-infectious (eg. allergic)
  • Dermoid cysts. A dermoid is an overgrowth of normal, non-cancerous tissue in an abnormal location. Dermoids occur all over the body. The ones in and around the eye are usually comprised of skin, hair, and/or fat.
  • Infantile/childhood cataracts. A cataract is a clouding of the lens. Although cataracts are usually present in an older age group, they can occur in young children and even at birth. If a cataract is present in a young child, it can adversely affect visual development and cause amblyopia (lazy eye).

The following are a sampling of systemic medical conditions that can have associated eye problems and should be evaluated by a qualified pediatric ophthalmologist: