Did you know that a photograph can reveal vital and potentially life-saving information about a child’s eye health?
Tara Taylor’s Facebook friends warned her that the light in her 3-year-old daughter’s eye could suggest something was wrong after sharing a photo of her on social media. Rylee Taylor was diagnosed with a rare eye illness that can cause vision loss due to this. Ophthalmologists were able to save her sight thanks to early detection.
Paying great attention to images of children might reveal both common and uncommon eye disorders caused by the “red reflex,” or the reflection of the camera flash off the retina.
What Does It Signify When You See Red Eyes in Photos?
When a camera flash illuminates the blood-rich retina, a red reaction occurs. If both eyes are gazing squarely at the camera lens and the reflex in both eyes is red, the retinas of both eyes are most likely unobstructed and healthy.
A white, yellow, or black reflection in one or both eyes is known as an “abnormal red reflex.” This could be a sign of an underlying eye disease that only a pediatric ophthalmologist can diagnose.
It is vital to observe whether a photo was taken under ideal settings to depict a true aberrant red reflex, according to Dr. Jane Edmond, MD, of Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital. Make certain that:
– The toddler is staring directly into the lens of the camera.
– The flash on the camera is turned on, and the background is faintly lighted.
– The red-eye reduction feature has been disabled.
Bring the photo to your child’s eye doctor if you notice an abnormal red reaction. A white reaction does not always indicate something is wrong. Rather, the infant is likely looking to the right of the camera, and the white reflection occurs in the left eye because the optic nerve is exactly aligned with the camera and flash.
Refractive error is by far the most common cause of an abnormal red reflex, said Dr. Michael Repka, MD, of Johns Hopkins Hospital. A refractive error occurs when your eye’s shape prevents it from correctly refracting light, resulting in a fuzzy or blurry image. Refractive errors include myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism. Fortunately, refractive errors like these can be usually be treated with eyeglasses only.
