Astigmatism in children
Many believe that the only reason for the badthe child's vision is the TV / computer. Allegedly, if a child does not sit for a long time at a computer or does not watch cartoons for hours, he can not have vision problems. In fact, some visual defects can be congenital. These include astigmatism in children.
Astigmatism is associated with a violation of the shape of the lens or cornea. If the curvature of the lens or cornea is disturbed,rays of light do not focus on a single point on the retina. As a result of optical focuses, there are two, and none of them is located where necessary. Due to the defocusing of the image, the astigmatic perceives the visual images as distorted, vague.
Many people are characterized by such a punishable physiological astigmatism, in which the refractive difference is notmore than 0,5 diopters. Such an optical error by the person himself is not felt and does not need correction. We can talk about astigmatism as a disease if the difference in refraction is 1 diopter and more.
Astigmatism in children is usually due to innate causes. On the basis of congenital astigmatism, one more visual defect may develop - amblyopia ("Lazy eye"). Since the child from the birth perceives the visual images in a distorted manner, the neurons responsible for vision do not develop and do not function in full.
Amblyopia is not corrected by glasses or lenses, because the problem is not in the eyes, but in thethe visual cortex of the brain. Therefore, it is very important to identify astigmatism in children in time and begin treatment in order to prevent the development of amblyopia and the final drop in vision.
Astigmatism can manifest at any age, butusually astigmatism in children is finally formed during the first few years of life. Most often it is diagnosed when examining children of the second year of life. Its main symptoms - lowering the vision, curvature and bifurcation of objects in perception. An older child may complain of rapid eye fatigue and headaches.
A simple test for astigmatism - is to give the child one eye to view the leafpaper drawn on it by dark parallel lines. When the sheet rotates, the lines will appear astigmatical then clear, then fuzzy. The final diagnosis is usually made after the dilatation of the pupils with atropine and a shadow test (skiascopia).
To correct astigmatism glasses with astigmatic lenses are used. Such lenses have a cylindrical shape, they havedifferent curvature along the vertical and horizontal lines. In most cases, astigmatism in children is combined with farsightedness or nearsightedness, so it is compensated by spherical-cylindrical lenses. Instead of glasses it is possible to use the appropriate contact lenses, but in childhood it is better to give preference to glasses.
On the recommendation of the oculist, surgical methods can also be used (keratotomy, thermokeratocoagulation, lasercoagulation, excimer laser) to cure astigmatism in children. But such an operation can be carried out only if astigmatism is not combined with other problems with the eyes (scars on the surface of the eyeball, retinal pathologies, etc.). In addition, first you need to cure amblyopia, if it is, and only then do a surgical correction to correct the optics of the cornea.
In an attempt to cure astigmatism in children, parentsoften resort to a variety of methods, the effectiveness of which has not been proven. For example, give the child various nutritional supplements with blueberries, supposedly increasing visual acuity, or force him to wear glasses "in the hole". Perhaps such methods of treatment do not harm the child, but The benefits of them will not be exactly.
A child with astigmatism should definitely be registered with an ophthalmologist. Usually, children with this vision pathology visitophthalmologist at least twice a year. If a child wears glasses, you need to change his optics in time in accordance with the growth of the eye. The development of the visual system lasts until about 16 years, so all this time you need to control it.
Astigmatism in children does not progress, in contrastfrom other ophthalmic diseases. But it is still important to keep it under control to prevent the development of concomitant visual impairment (myopia, hyperopia, amblyopia). therefore the child must follow all the recommendations of an ophthalmologist. At home parents should follow, in the kindergarten - teachers, at school - teachers.
Astigmatism in children is not a sentence. If it is time to identify and follow all the recommendations of doctors, you can avoid further reduction in vision.
