Why children may experience hypermetropia

After the birth of a child, many systems of his body during the first years undergo significant changes, adapting to the surrounding world. This is, first of all, the immune system and the musculoskeletal system. However, the baby's visual organs at birth are not exactly in the state that is necessary for a normal life. The condition is called hypermetropia, or farsightedness.

Definition of disease

For each child, a certain degree of hypermetropia at a certain age is the norm.This deviation is due to the small size of the eyeball at birth, which results in the point of focusing the image beyond the eye.In other words, the diameter of the eyeball does not correspond to the refractive power of the cornea, the lens and the vitreous.

However, with age in most children, an increase in the size of the eyes leads to normalization of vision, and hypermetropia disappears without a trace.

To detect abnormalities in vision, it is necessary to constantly undergo preventive examinations with an ophthalmologist: at 6 months, 12 months. etc. For a one-year-old child, the norm is farsightedness with a score of +, D, which by 3 years should decrease to + 1 D.

Detection of abnormalities that go beyond the normative indices requires immediate adjustment to the doctor's prescription.

Causes

As a rule, normal stabilization of vision in a child should occur before the beginning of school loads, at about the age of 6 years.It is then that the visual system almost completely develops and corresponds to its normal vision of an adult.

However, in some children, anatomical disorders in the structure of the eye, most often of a hereditary nature, can cause the development of hypermetropia.Such anomalies include:

• Inadequately curved cornea;
• Short eye axis;
• Deeply located lens, as well as its anomalous shape.

Depending on the degree of abnormalities, there are 3 degrees of manifestation of congenital hyperopia:

• 1st- the degree is considered to be weak, since the child sees well away, and when viewed near the eye fatigue occurs, and even then only with respect to small objects. In this case enough lenses +3 D ​​for vision correction;
• 2nd- an average degree when when working with closely located objects there are significant difficulties, and for correction, lenses from + to +5 D are already used;
• 3rd- a serious degree requiring the use of lenses over +, 5 D, as there is a visual impairment both near and far.

Symptoms

To detect the initial signs of the disease, it is not necessary for the child to be able to read or explain to his parents his condition.After all, visual impairment gives the baby discomfort, so he will behave unusually, and attentive parents can always suspect the development of an anomaly.

Such features are:

• The kid constantly rubs his eyes with his hands, tries to "blink" his eyes, closes his eyes and opens them wide;
• When watching TV or viewing pictures the child tries to move closer to the subject of his attention;
• The kid can refuse any occupations that require visual load: reading, drawing, puzzles, etc. ;
• Infectious inflammation(conjunctivitis, blepharitis) appear more often than usual and, it would seem, completely unreasonable.

Particular attention should be paid to the emotional state of the baby, because visual discomfort manifested irritability, capriciousness, bad mood, which also appear completely unreasonably. However, in fact, they are caused by eye strain and headache because of this.

Possible complications

The lack of timely and correct medical tactics in the diagnosis of "hypermetropia" can cause serious visual disturbances, which in most cases can be corrected impossible:

• Amblyopia (lazy eye)- a disease in which the eye, having a normal optical structure, has not learned to see in childhood, and most often the reason for this is the lack of correction of hyperopia in young children;
• Strabismus- most often children develop convergent strabismus when they try to focus on a closely located object. This condition with a regularly straining ciliary muscle can move from temporary to permanent, which is the cause of the development of the disease;
• Glaucoma- Both the narrow-angle and the closed-angle forms of the disease can develop precisely with hypermetropia, since in this case the eye has a predisposing structure to disturb the outflow of the intraocular fluid. In children, such anomaly is not so rare - in 10% of the total number of severe eye pathologies.

The development of complications is the most unfavorable development of the scenario. However, with timely diagnosis in most cases, hypermetropia can be fully cured (with the exception of cases of severe congenital farsightedness).

Treatment

For timely diagnosis, a preventive examination of vision is recommended at least once a year.In this case, it should be borne in mind that a routine examination will not reveal a hypermetropia in a child. Special investigations are needed for detection, since a weak degree of farsightedness can be compensated for by the accommodation apparatus of the eye.

Subsequently, such latent farsightedness necessarily progresses and makes itself felt headaches and rapid eye fatigue.In the late stages of the disease, the only method of correction is surgical.

Medication Therapy

The main method of treatment in the early stages of pathology detection is wearing glasses and contact lenses.Up to 3 years, as a rule, such correction is not appointed, since the child's visual apparatus is still in the formation stage.

Points prescribed for younger children, and contact lenses - in adolescence, when the child is already aware of the full responsibility for the use of this tool.And most importantly - can already independently carry out all the sanitary and hygienic requirements associated with the use of lenses.

For the removal of spasm and training of all oculomotor structures, hardware and physiotherapy can be used.

These methods include:

• Percutaneous electrostimulation, allowing to improve the quality of blood supply to the eye structures;
• Electrostimulation with laserlow intensity, also positively affecting the increase of blood supply and circulation of intraocular fluid;
• Color impulse stimulation;
• Ultrasound exposure;
• Vacuum massage;
• Electrocoagulation.

  Electrostimulation of the eye by laser

In addition to the above, the doctor can prescribe the necessary medicationsin accordance with individual indications for each child. This is likely to be a drop for improving eyesight.

The duration of wearing glasses and lenses depends entirely on the degree of hypermetropia and the stage at which treatment is started:

• At a low degreefarsightedness that does not go beyond the limits of age norms, the correction will be temporary, and the need for it will completely disappear when the formation of the eye structures is finally completed;
• At a high degreehypermetropia, which does not pass with age even after correction, wearing glasses is mandatory in a constant mode;
• At an average degreefarsightedness in children 7 years and older spectacle correction or wearing of lenses (as prescribed by a doctor) can only be used to work near.

Thus, in most cases, the success of treatment of the pathology depends entirely on the vigilance of the parents and the beginning of the correction of the deviations.

Surgically

In the absence of the effect of conservative treatment methods, when a child reaches 18 years of age, surgical correction of vision is possible with the aim of getting rid of hyperopia.

Surgical methods can be performed in the following way:

• The scalpel operation;
• Laser correction.

To restore normal visual perception, the refractive power of the lens or cornea is corrected in the direction of its amplification. In this way, the image arriving at the eye is focused on the central organ of perception - the macula (yellow spot).

Laser correction

In accordance with the patient's condition, the operation can be performed on an outpatient basis or in a hospital, and the duration is on average 15-20 minutes.For today it is one of the most effective methods of vision correction. The only negative point is the presence of several contraindications.

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Prevention

To ensure that your baby has a timely and properly formed eye device, you should pay attention to several important points:

• Observe sleep and rest for the baby, sleep should be at least 8 hours, and hard work of the eyes when finding a computer or television should be allowed in a limited number (on the advice of a doctor);
• Pay attention to the balance of the diet:presence in it of all necessary for normal growth and development of substances, but especially - natural vitamins, micro and macro elements;
• It is right to organize a workplace at the beginning of school hours: the light falling on the left, which should not be too bright or too dim, and also the incompatibility of natural and artificial lighting.

If the child has visual problems, it is necessary to inform the teachers, it will help in the correct organization of the workplace, and if necessary - in reducing physical exertion. Be sure to do preventive examinations with an ophthalmologist and monitor the level of general immunity - often the immune system exhibits "miracles" in the treatment, it needs only a little push.

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conclusions

Hyperopia in children is an absolutely normal phenomenon up to a certain age and within certain limits. Therefore, in most cases, deviations in the vision of such a plan are amenable to a full, albeit lengthy, correction, the success of which depends on the timeliness of the measures taken.

Exceptions are cases of severe congenital farsightedness, but there is also an acceptable output here - laser correction of vision, which has a high percentage of successful outcomes (up to 98%).

Read also about the causes of strabismus in children and methods of correcting children's eyesight.