It started in a dimly lit room. I opened my eyes and started crying, gasping for air. The faces of a few people in white robes blurred out like smudged inks. It was the beginning of my blurry life. My arrival is announced and noted in a little notebook. I was placed in the sweaty arms of somebody. They congratulated her and everyone sighed with relief. It was a triumphant outcome.
Our lives officially start when we first open our eyes. We are exposed to light for the first time in our life. The sight of our parents, friends and families can feel so surreal and alien.
One thing most people do not realise is that babies cannot see your face. The world is all a blur to a newborn. As we are born into this world with blurry vision, we will leave this world a little blurry too.
Our eyes start to form in the 3rd week of gestation, meaning that it is one of the first few organs to develop in the mother’s womb. When the pregnancy is almost due, the baby will see red.
And that is how our eyes get their start in life. It is one of the simplest yet complex designs that everyone needs. The design is elegant and quite simple. It has essentially a lens, which is quite like what we know as glasses.
That said, there are still a few notable eye problems that can occur in newborns. Let us go through some of them. Some babies are born with cataracts, which is unfortunate.
These can be corrected with surgery. Premature babies can be born with less developed eyes, called retinopathy of prematurity. This condition is where the blood vessels in the eyes are not fully matured.
More often than not, babies with short-sighted parents have a higher risk of developing short-sightedness themselves.
Therefore, it is always advisable to monitor their behaviours and if any signs are detected, they should bring them to an eyecare professional.
Crossed Eyes
This is the most common baby’s eye condition. You will need to seek professional help to confirm this diagnosis but most parents are worried when they notice that their baby’s eyes are not ‘straight’. Detected early, there are interventions to help sort out this problem.
We should take care of our eyes. Each person only has two. Sometimes, I wonder why there are two of them as we don’t have two mouths or noses. Eyes are precious.
Without them, how do we have love at first sight? How do we have a good quality of life? How can we go about our lives?
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Sarawak Tribune.
