Hyperopia and myopia in children are often congenital. In this case, treatment begins from an early age and lasts until complete recovery. The task of parents is to constantly monitor the well-being of the baby and provide him with the necessary assistance.
What is farsightedness?
Hypermetropia (farsightedness) is an ophthalmic disease in which the resulting image is focused in the plane behind the retina, and not as it should, on a certain area. People suffering from this disease do not see objects located a short distance from the eyes. Farsightedness mainly develops in older people. This is due to a change in the optical system of the eye.
There are also other factors for the development of this disease:
- Bad habits.
- Unhealthy Lifestyle.
- Diseases of the body (e.g., diabetes mellitus).
Hypermetropia often develops in babies. This is a natural farsightedness in children. Consider what affects its development.
Causes of farsightedness in children
The main cause of farsightedness is called:
- shortened eyeball;
- small refractive power of the optical media of the organs of vision.
If you increase it, then the rays will focus in the same place where with one hundred percent vision. Most often, this disease develops in young children. The norm in this case is a weak degree of farsightedness in children under 1 year old. It passes over time. If the degree is higher, then this problem requires immediate correction and medical treatment.
Farsightedness Symptoms
Hyperopia can occur without any symptoms if the degree of the disease is mild.
But already at moderate or high, you can identify a number of certain symptoms:
- Visual acuity decreases. This symptom is the main, observed at any degree of the disease to one degree or another. All objects that are located close to a person are blurred.
- Increased eye fatigue. Especially if the work is connected with small details. Pain in the eyeballs and muscles is possible.
- Slow focus. When looking from a near subject into the distance, a delayed reaction, blurred image may be observed. A person has to constantly squint, and this makes his eyes even more tired.
- Headaches with hyperopia in a child of 4 years. This symptom is more characteristic of a high degree of disease. With prolonged focus on work, not only the eyes begin to hurt, but also the nose bridge, temporal zone.
- Reduced visual acuity when focusing on objects located both near and far. This is a symptom of a high degree of disease. Concerned pain in the eyes, there is instant fatigue, constant pain.
- Frequent eye diseases. There is a tendency to such inflammatory processes as blepharitis and conjunctivitis.
- Strabismus. People with a high degree of farsightedness have strabismus.
Farsightedness diagnosis
To obtain a complete picture when diagnosing a patient’s vision for hyperopia, a series of examinations is carried out:
- check visual acuity according to the table;
- they study the optical state of the eye using a computer, this procedure is called autorefractometry;
- keratometry - study the optical power of the cornea using computer technology;
- look at the expansion of the pupils with the help of drops (apply cycloplegia);
- Ultrasound of the eye to determine the length from the cornea to the fundus;
- they make a skioscopy - checking the optics of the eyes in children on a wide pupil using autorefractometry. The table examines the range of vision, showing the letters in lines.
Autorefractometry
Autorefractometry is necessary to establish accurate diopter. Also, in parallel through a computer program, an examination is made for the presence or absence of other diseases that affect vision. The result is issued on the check and pasted into the patient's card. The expansion of the pupils is necessary in order to find out the ability of the muscles to quickly respond to the approach or removal of objects. The ciliary muscle does not relax with hyperopia, it is always in a state of tension. This is clearly visible through the dilated pupil with the help of auxiliary devices available to the optometrist.
Hyperopia Surgical Treatment
The main point of the whole method is to make them 1/8 thinner with a precise and gentle effect of excimer laser rays on corneal tissues. The latest computer technology helps surgeons achieve the perfect new corneal profile. Thanks to this, it became possible to correct pathologies of almost any complexity.
Laser Correction Limit:
- For pregnant and lactating. Hormonal background should fully recover after surgery.
- For children and adolescents under 18. Until adulthood, a person’s eyes are considered not fully formed.
Severe surgical treatment
With a high degree of hyperopia in children, treatment lasts in stages, begins with preparation, with scleroplasty. This procedure creates a new sclera framework, which will consist of donor tissues. When the development of pathology is stopped, then the use of laser correction as a treatment is allowed. A particularly neglected degree of farsightedness can only be cured with surgery. The purpose of this operation is the implantation of an implant in the eye, which looks like a phakic (intraocular) lens. This treatment method is recommended to be used only if all the others have not been effective.
Complaints of children with hyperopia
Most often, patients receive complaints about:
- visual impairment, especially at close range;
- sharp pain in the eyes;
- burning sensation in the mucous membranes of the eyes;
- frequent headache (especially in the evening);
- increased lacrimation.
You need to understand and remember that there is no magic medicine that improves vision. The patient will be able to see well with glasses, contact lenses, or even after a successful operation.
Nevertheless, drops are very important, they will inhibit the further development of the disease and smooth out unpleasant symptoms.
Taufon
They are designed to help treat the disease in adults. Drops enhance the metabolic processes in the structure of the eye. This drug normalizes cell membranes, restores metabolism, a sufficient amount of nutrients begins to flow to the muscles and lens. If you regularly use Taufon, you can cope with muscle cramps and eye fatigue. In addition, it activates the active regeneration of tissues.
A cheaper analogue of Taufon is Taurine. Before using each of the medicines, you need to know the opinion of the doctor. Taurine must be used within a month. It is necessary to drip in each eye one drop twice a day.
Hyperopia treatment with folk remedies
It is believed that vision in a child with farsightedness can be maintained or fully restored at home. In this difficult case, folk remedies, affordable and very effective, will help.
Here is an example of the most effective:
- Drops of lemongrass. For their preparation, it is necessary to pour the fruits of Schisandra chinensis with seventy-degree alcohol in a ratio of one to three. Insist a week. Then take orally on an empty stomach in the morning. Dosage - twenty drops. The duration of treatment is about a month.
- Motherwort tincture. It is necessary to bring 200 ml of water to a boil and pour several teaspoons of the herb with it. Cover and set aside for about an hour. Then take orally several times a day. Dosage - one tablespoon.
- Blueberry infusion. Pour a small amount of blueberry leaves with one glass of boiling water. Insist for an hour. Strain and drink this glass in a day, dividing the contents into two doses.
- Broth of wheatgrass. It is necessary to take 100 g of dry wheatgrass rhizomes and fill with water, about one liter. Put on fire and boil until the liquid boils away. Strain through cheesecloth, drink a large spoon five times a day.
- Infusion of eyebright. You should pour a couple of tablespoons of herb with two glasses of boiling water. Leave to insist. Strain and drink several times a day, dividing the brewed norm into equal doses.
- Lotions of cherries. In the summer season, you can prepare lotions for the eyes from the pulp of cherries, which must be applied once a day before bedtime.
- Raw potatoes. But such procedures with the application of slices of raw potatoes to the eyeballs will help relieve fatigue after a busy day.
But no matter what method of treatment the patient uses, he always needs to rest more, trying not to strain his eyes.
Farsightedness Prevention
Modern life is a series of work, in the office we are sitting at the computer, on the way to work or study we read the news on our phone, at home we watch TV or we sit at the computer. Our eyes are in constant tension, and over time, visual acuity decreases.
There are several recommendations for the prevention of hyperopia:
- Observe the correct visual performance.
- With prolonged and intense visual work at a short, fixed distance, the frequency of blinking decreases significantly. The surface of the cornea “dries up”, the lacrimal membrane is renewed noticeably less. Therefore, keep an eye on the distance between you and the monitor.
- Proper lighting of the room. One of the main criteria for normal visual work is good and, most importantly, correctly selected lighting. It is necessary to install lighting near the workspace in a way that is comfortable for your eyes. It should not be dim or too bright. It should be optimal for the eyes, because they should not be overstrained.
- Do regular eye exercises. There are many complexes and types of exercises to improve the eye, as well as the prevention of hyperopia. Remember, prevention is better than treatment, so you need to monitor the state of eye health at any age, and not only when signs of the disease have already appeared.
Parents need to carefully monitor the health status of children and pay attention to the slightest complaints. Timely access to an ophthalmologist will protect from the development of hyperopia in adulthood. Properly selected glasses for a child with farsightedness will slow down the development of the disease.