Every parent dreams that his child will be healthy. But, alas, very often there are cases when problems begin already in childhood or even from the very moment of birth. One of the very frequent events among babies after a year is a violation of the functions of vision, for example, strabismus.
To eliminate it, it is recommended to use children's occluders. But first things first.
Types of Strabismus
There are several classifications of strabismus. Depending on the deviation of the parallelism of the axes of vision of the eyes:
- convergent;
- diverging;
- vertical.
Depending on the nature of the occurrence:
Depending on the form:
- friendly - in this case, the eyes mow alternately, and the deviation from the central axis remains the same;
- paralytic - manifests itself as a result of defects in the oculomotor muscles or diseases of the optic nerve, while the main burden falls on the healthy eye, since the patient does not listen well or does not move at all.
Causes of strabismus in children
Strabismus in a child can develop for several reasons:
- diseases of the brain that are infectious or post-traumatic in nature;
- inflammatory and other processes in the eye muscles;
- untimely compensation for visual impairment;
- birth trauma ;
- strong physical, visual, nervous loads.
What to look for
A visit to a doctor such as a children's optometrist is necessary if you have the following symptoms:
- a three-month-old baby cannot follow objects simultaneously with two eyes;
- incomplete raising of one of the eyelids, which interferes with normal vision;
- the child covers one eye to view objects that are far away or closely spaced;
- eyes look in different directions or twitching is observed.
The specialist will help to diagnose the disease in time and prescribe the necessary type of treatment. You may have to buy baby occluders for the baby (for the eyes) or choose another way to get rid of the problem.
Risk group
There is also the so-called risk group. Children who enter it are more prone to vision problems, including strabismus. This applies to those babies in whom family members have any vision pathology. Therefore, they need to carry out diagnostics as early as possible in order to get rid of the problem even at the time of its inception. This is especially true for babies after a year.
In addition, premature babies are prone to strabismus . This is due to deviations in the development of the muscular system of the ocular apparatus. Although premature strabismus may be temporary in nature and, with proper care, does not require special measures.
Ways to get rid of the problem
There are several ways that can help normalize a child’s vision and relieve strabismus. A child eye specialist can prescribe corrective glasses. This happens in most cases when the child reaches one year of age.
For the treatment of strabismus, doctors recommend wearing eye patches - occluders. They are necessary to enhance the activity of the squinting eye. Previously, for these purposes, conventional blindfolds or cardboard inserts in glasses were used, but in the modern world children's occluders are much more convenient to use.
Types of Occluders
Today, there are many types of stickers for the eyes. Children's occluders are very comfortable to wear, do not cause severe discomfort and do not cause allergic reactions. Of course, this applies only to high-quality products, so the choice should be approached with special care.
A thin strip of glue is applied along the contour of the occluder, which helps fix the product on the baby’s eye and at the same time does not harm the delicate skin of the baby’s eyelid. At the same time, the products of some companies (gluing on the eye) can be removed exclusively with outside help. This is necessary so that the baby can not remove it on its own and does not interfere with the correct treatment process.
Occluders for children are available in a wide assortment: a lot of interesting patterns and color combinations are pleasing to the eye, and the crumb will be able to independently choose the option they like for themselves. In addition, they are classified by gender and age of the patient. An example is the Ortopad occluder.
Stickers on the eyes can be disposable and reusable. The first are available in the form of a patch with a soft insert that is able to adapt as much as possible to the anatomy of the face and at the same time perfectly closes the eye. It is worth noting that this option is quite expensive.
Reusable occluders are usually made of silicone, and they are mounted not on the eye, but on the lens of the glasses. This option is both more economical for parents and more comfortable for the child. The only minus is that the baby can begin to spy. The second type of reusable occluder is made of non-woven materials. It needs to be put on through the slot on the frame, as a result of which the overview of the desired eye is completely closed, and spying something becomes quite problematic.
Rules for using the Occluder
To begin with, it is worth noting that only a pediatric ophthalmologist can recommend wearing eye sticks. During the consultation, he will talk about the rules for its use.
As practice shows, parents often have difficulty in persuading the baby to start wearing an occluder. It’s still very difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to explain that all this is done for his own good. In such situations, it is recommended to start wearing the tape in a playful way and gradually. For example, for starters, you can do this while reading books or watching cartoons, constantly increasing time with a glued eye. Not much time will pass, and the child will get used to the attribute. The main thing in this difficult matter is not to give up and confidently go towards the goal.
A child suffering from strabismus needs to wear an occlusor all day, without even taking a minute break. As a result, the brain begins to send signals to the eye muscles to the correct, direct, and not oblique vision. In this case, treatment should be carried out until the moment of full recovery, so that this process becomes a habit.
It is important to remember!
The success of treatment primarily depends on the correctness of its conduct and patient discipline. The child in this case should never look with two eyes at the same time! In the case of removing the tape (for example, during a night's sleep), it must necessarily close a healthy eye.
The following data can be cited as an example:
- if the baby watched with two eyes for 1-2 minutes - the whole day of wearing the occluder went down the drain;
- if the child watched with two eyes for about 7-10 minutes, a week of treatment was lost;
- if this happened within 1-2 hours - you can judge the lost month;
- in cases when, for any reason, the blindfold on a healthy eye was not worn for the whole day - "down the drain" for a month of therapy!
These statistics are aimed at ensuring that parents understand the importance of discipline in this matter and do not allow any concessions.
And while wearing an occluder will bring temporary inconvenience, but in the future the child will thank you for your patience and perseverance. After all, strabismus is not only a cosmetic defect. If it is available in the future, problems may arise with employment in areas that require coordination of movements and special care.