Refractive errors, strabismus, cataracts, glaucoma, blocked tear ducts, eyelid deformities, and eye tumors are the most common eye diseases in children. Therefore, eye examinations should be performed from newborns onwards. These examinations should be repeated at 6 months, 18 months, 3 years, 5 years, and preschool. If there is a known eye disease in the family, this frequency can be increased.

Symptoms of eye disease in children may include squinting, drooping eyelids, watering, crusting, looking at television or books closely, squinting, headaches, dizziness, looking with the head tilted to one side, and an inability to focus.

Strabismus is one of the most common eye diseases in children. Strabismus is a misalignment of the eye's parallelism. It can occur as a result of a refractive error in the eyes or as a result of problems in the brain's central nervous system. If one eye looks straight ahead while the other looks away, the child has strabismus. The most common type of strabismus in children is a form of inward deviation due to vision problems. Glasses should be prescribed for the child, and patching therapy should be initiated. To prevent double vision, the misaligned eye will eventually become lazy. Surgery should also be planned as soon as possible for strabismus that can be corrected with surgery.

Amblyopia is a condition characterized by a difference in vision between the two eyes of more than two diopters, ptosis, or congenital cataracts, where one eye has less vision than the other. However, if detected at a young age, it can be treated. Early eye examinations are important in children because the brain suppresses the eye receiving the blurred image, resulting in pressure and amblyopia. The treatment for amblyopia is patching therapy, which uses patching tapes to cover the better-seeing eye, allowing the less-sighted eye to learn to see independently.

In children with glaucoma, light is disturbed. Over time, the eyes dilate and enlarge. If early diagnosis and treatment are not made, the transparent layer of the eye whitens, obstructing the baby's vision.

Another common condition is blocked tear ducts. In infants, watering and crusting occur in both eyes. These tear ducts are opened by massage until the age of one. Antibiotic drops prevent infection. If the child still has symptoms after the age of one, the ducts are opened with a special catheter under general anesthesia. If this is still unsuccessful, the balloon method is used.

If the pupil is white when it should be black, consult a doctor immediately. This is often a sign of congenital cataracts. Consanguineous marriages or infections the mother had during pregnancy may have caused this condition. Cataract surgery should be performed as soon as possible to prevent amblyopia. Rarely, an eye tumor can cause this appearance, and early diagnosis and surgery are the treatment.

Vernal conjunctivitis is also seen in children with allergies during the spring months. Itching, burning, and redness occur every spring until children reach puberty and continue into the fall. Treatment involves avoiding allergens and using eye drops.