To put it very bluntly, the complex hyperopic astigmatism in children is not a disease at all, but a kind of refractive violation of the visual organ. But if it is not considered a disease, this does not mean at all that astigmatism poses no threat. In itself, its manifestation can be characterized as a violation of the shape of the cornea or deformation of the lens. The task of the parents is to immediately take the baby to a specialist at the first suspicion of a disease. The timely treatment of complex hyperopic astigmatism in children is the key to success.
Causes
Due to the fact that the light is refracted, the focus of the object, which is displayed in front of the eyes, is reflected not on the retina itself, but either in front of or behind it. When a child has hypermetropic astigmatism, all the objects that he sees in front of him appear to be slightly blurry or they change shape a little. You can show this with the following example: the dot is depicted in the picture, and it seems to the child that an oval or even an ordinary dash is drawn. Such a deviation is treatable, and the sooner the treatment becomes known about it and the treatment begins, the faster it will go.
It is important to say that a large number of children are already born with this ailment, but it manifests itself in them in a mild form and, as a rule, almost completely disappears on their own before they reach the age of one year. This type of astigmatism is usually called physiological.
But most often the disease is inherited. You can detect it at a very young age, especially if an experienced ophthalmologist takes up the case, he will see the ailment at a very young age, until the child reaches one year of age. Hereditary hypermetropic astigmatism is provoked due to the fact that the cornea or the form of the lens was broken. If the pathology was acquired during the life of the child, then it could have formed when any trauma to the visual organ was previously received, there was a slight dislocation of the lens or deviations in the development of the teeth were detected, due to which the shape of the eye walls changed.
Symptoms
The easiest way to determine this pathology in a school student than in a young child. The kid does not realize that he has a vision problem, and makes practically no complaints, and his parents do not notice anything for a long period.
The following symptoms of hyperopic astigmatism in children can be noted:
- Inability to read the text, to make out the object near.
- Lack of focus on the subject.
- The vagueness of the picture.
- Frequent tension, eye fatigue.
- Dizziness.
The kid may refuse to read or write and complains of a headache. In some cases, he may slightly tilt his head and screw up his eyes in order to examine subjects of interest to him. If parents saw one of these indicators in their baby, you need to consult an ophthalmologist.
Treatment
As you know, astigmatism in most cases is a hereditary disease, which means that it can be diagnosed and treated in the early, unreleased stages. In addition, under the age of one year, astigmatic manifestations can pass by themselves as they grow older.
Another factor influencing the favorable prognosis of therapy for astigmatism is that the formation of the organs of vision lasts until about 18 years old, and before this period it is still possible to correct the problems with a gentle conservative method.With complex hyperopic astigmatism in children, as mentioned above, correctional and drug therapy is carried out. However, it is aimed more at eliminating symptoms and improving visual acuity, while the disease itself cannot be cured. It is possible to completely get rid of this pathology surgically at the end of the formation of the eyeball.
Modern medical practice offers the following methods of treating hyperopic astigmatism of a complex and simple form.
Vision correction measures
They consist in the selection of glasses with cylindrical glasses by the ophthalmologist who focuses the light beam directly on the retina. At the initial stage of wearing glasses, the child may experience some discomfort, consisting in a slight dizziness, headache. But if the glasses are selected correctly, then after a couple of weeks these symptoms disappear, and the child gets used to wearing glasses. At the same time, of course, glasses are not very convenient and comfortable for children, they complicate the process of outdoor games, reduce lateral vision, and quickly tire of vision. But the use of more convenient contact lenses is permissible only after the baby reaches the age of ten.
Apparatus gymnastics
Along with vision correction with glasses, an ophthalmologist recommends using another method of treating hyperopic astigmatism in children. Namely, to attend classes with the child in apparatus gymnastics, in which the child’s eyes are trained and corrected in an entertaining, playful way with the help of special exercises, as well as with modern equipment.
Drug treatment
Drug therapy of complex hyperopic astigmatism in both eyes in children consists in additional enrichment (nutrition) of the organs of vision with the help of special eye drops. Among the most popular and appointed, you can often list the following:
- "Emoksipin" - eye drops with antioxidant properties, which also strengthen the walls of blood vessels;
- "Quinax" - prevents clouding of the lens.
It is important to note here that the choice of medications, their dosage is determined solely by the attending physician, self-medication in this case, as in many others, is unacceptable.
Complications
As a rule, most often hyperopic astigmatism in children is complicated by amblyopia. This is a condition where the brain does not fix blurry vision from an astigmatized eye, and gradually the visual acuity in this eye decreases markedly. Correct this condition is necessary in early childhood, it is then that treatment can give a positive prognosis. Otherwise, this pathology cannot be corrected even surgically.
Amblyopia Treatment
Amblyopia helps to cope with the aforementioned modern hardware techniques, including:
- exposure to the eye with color, light or electromagnetic waves;
- retina laser stimulation;
- hardware training on the Amblicor ophthalmic equipment;
- physiotherapeutic procedures;
- perhaps the easiest way is to glue a bandage or tape for a healthy eye.
Asthenopia as a complication
Another complication of complex hyperopic astigmatism in children is rapid eye fatigue (asthenopia), which appears after any eye strain and is manifested by blurry and blurry objects, sharp eyes, and decreased visual acuity. Such conditions are removed with the help of analogues of Atropine eye drops, but with a lower concentration, suitable for children. To prevent asthenopia, it is important to give proper attention to gymnastics.
Further tasks
As the child grows up, it becomes clear whether it was possible to adequately correct the manifestations of hyperopic astigmatism using the above methods or whether the pathology is in a progressive stage, threatening loss of vision.
If significant results could not be achieved, upon reaching the child 16-18 years of age, a decision is made on the surgical correction of astigmatism. Modern medical practice offers the following methods of surgical treatment of astigmatism:
- Corneal surface correction using laser thermokeratoplasty;
- correction of hyperopia astigmatism using laser keratomileusis;
- the implementation of point cauterization during thermocoagulation.