Baby's big eyes were secret sign of rare cause of blindness

A baby girl's "beautiful big blue eyes" were actually a symptom of a condition causing blindness.

Aretria Bice, aged 10 months, was born with big blue eyes - a trait that nobody else in her family had.

Her "beautiful" eyes would see her complimented "six or seven times every day" by strangers - which mum Louise, 34, loved.

But at six months old, in May this year, one of Aretria's baby blues turned "milky" and any light would cause her to scream in pain.

Both of Aretria's parents suspected that their youngest daughter might have hit her eye with a toy.

But Louise - and Connor Bice, 29 - were told Aretria had a severe case of bilateral congenital glaucoma - a genetic abnormality which leads to extreme and growing pressure on the optic nerve.

Aretria's much-loved big eyes actually required urgent surgery.

At just seven months, Aretria underwent a four-hour surgery at Birmingham Children's Hospital to relieve the pressure - but follow-up tests showed it had failed.

She had surgery for the second time in August and her parents are awaiting the results - although Aretria has lost almost 100% of her vision in one eye already.

Her mother wants to warn other parents to look for the symptoms - and to not assume big eyes are "beautiful" when they could be a sign of something more serious.

Bice, a stay-at-home mum from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, said: "I never expected Ari's big, beautiful eyes to be a bad thing.

"Suddenly one day her eye clouded over - one minute it was fine and 15 minutes later it was completely changed.

"Specialists had to do horrific tests on her and I learned she had already lost some vision in both eyes. After two surgeries we still don't know what will happen - she already has just five per cent vision left in her right eye.

"She's in so much pain and I don't know if she can cope with another surgery.

"I just think if we had managed to get this diagnosed before the pressure got out of control, she might not now be blind in one eye.

"If someone had said it was weird she had big eyes, rather than cute, we might have got it checked - but none of us knew it was even a red flag."

After Aretria was born her big eyes had become a source of compliments from friends and family. Even doctors and health visitors commented - but nobody mentioned any risks.

Then at the end of May, Bice noted her daughter's eye was "clouded".

She said: "Connor sent me a picture that morning of the two of them together and her eyes were fine. When I got back her right eye had clouded over.

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"I hadn't even got through the door when I said 'we need to take her to A&E right now'".

Their local hospital in Mansfield sent them to Chesterfield Royal Hospital in Derbyshire, where doctors identified the high pressure but, but failed to diagnose a reason.

Two days later, specialists at Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, diagnosed bilateral congenital glaucoma, with specialists saying they had only seen a handful of cases.

Bice said: "Doctors said she had been exposed to high eye pressure from birth because her fluid drainage system didn't form properly in her eye when she was still in the womb."

Aretria underwent a four-hour procedure in June, followed by a month of eye drops six times a day as well as having protective eye shields taped onto her face for a week.

Bice said: "We didn't get any sleep for about a week after and hoped that would be the last of it. But two weeks later when we went back for her post-op, the pressure readings were even higher than before.

"The operation had failed - and she would need more surgery."

A second operation took place on 18 August but while the family are still waiting for official results, early signs suggest the surgery may have been unsuccessful for a second time.

If that's the case, medics will move on to a different kind of surgery to release the pressure involving drainage tubes or valves.

Bice said she wants to warn parents to look out for symptoms - even if they might not seem sinister.

She said: "Before, she used to get compliments about her eyes six or seven times a day. Now I just feel really awkward when people say it.

"Aesthetically it might be, but having these big, beautiful eyes isn't always a good thing.

"If we knew that before, she might not be blind in her right eye now."

What is bilateral congenital glaucoma?

Glaucoma can occur without any cause, but many factors can affect it. The most important of these factors is intraocular eye pressure. Eyes produce a fluid called aqueous humor that nourishes them. This liquid flows through the pupil to the front of the eye. In a healthy eye, the fluid leaves through the drainage canals located between the iris and cornea, but with glaucoma, the resistance increases in the drainage canals. The fluid has nowhere to go, so it builds up in the eye.

This excess fluid puts pressure on the eye and eventually, this elevated eye pressure can damage optic nerves and lead to glaucoma.

According to Moorfields Eye Charity, glaucoma only occurs in 1 in 30,000 births. It can cause sight loss in up to 5% of children worldwide and is characterised by visual field loss and elevated intraocular pressure (IOP).

Symptoms include unusually large and cloudy eyes, sensitivity to light and excessive tearing.