Girl’s eye disease revealed through Facebook photo

A 3-year-old Tennessee girl’s rare eye condition wasn’t discovered until her mother posted a picture to Facebook.

Tara Taylor posted a photo of her daughter, Rylee, who had her hair done up, but some Facebook users spotted something unusual, Memphis station WREG reported.

Rylee’s right eye showed up red because of the lens flash, but her left iris was glowing white.

At the recommendation of friends responding to the photo, Taylor took Rylee to a pediatrician and then to a retina specialist. The young girl was then diagnosed with Coat’s disease in her left eye, a rare condition that causes blindness or vision loss.

Dr. Jorge Calzada with the Charles Retina Institute and Baptist Eye Clinic said the earlier they can treat children, the better.

“The significant problem we have with children is that a child won’t say, ‘Mommy, I can’t see out of my right eye.’ It is usually caught in an expected way. When a child recognizes he cannot see or the parent recognizes they cannot see, it’s often because they’ve lost vision in both eyes,” said Dr. Calzada.

Taylor said her daughter hadn’t showed any signs of losing her eyesight yet. Because the problem was spotted now, doctors may be able to save Rylee’s vision before it starts deteriorating.