Myopia is a disease of the ocular apparatus in which the patient clearly sees objects at a close distance from the face, but does not see in the distance. Depending on the degree of damage by the accommodation mechanism, ophthalmology distinguishes between the degrees of the disease - a person may completely lose the ability to distinguish the outlines of objects beyond five centimeters from the face. In a medical language, myopia is called myopia. This is an incurable disease that can only worsen with age. Knowing the rules of visual hygiene and preventing myopia in children and adolescents is the key to clear vision and excellent vision at any age.
What are the causes of myopia?
The most common disease of the visual apparatus is myopia, or myopia. In this pathological condition, an elongation of the eyeball and a deviation along the axis are characteristic, the more - the worse the person sees in the distance. The opposite process is farsightedness, in which the patient does not distinguish between small text. His eye system simply cannot focus on nearby details, as the apple is flattened.
The average eye length of an adult is 2-2.2 centimeters. With myopia - three centimeters or more. The shape resembles an ellipse or chicken egg. Parallel rays of light entering the eye are collected at one point in front of the retina - this is why myopia occurs. If they were located on the surface - pathology of vision would not have arisen.
The most common cause of lengthening of the eyeball is overstrain of the muscles of the visual apparatus. This condition occurs most often due to prolonged work at the desk. Often, a real diagnosis of myopia is preceded by a spasm of accommodation or the so-called false myopia. Changes can be so slight that during the first two years the disease goes unnoticed.
In some cases, myopia develops for no apparent reason, even if all measures to prevent this disease are followed. In this case, there is a genetic factor: myopia is usually traced through a generation. That is, if a grandmother suffered from the disease, then the probability of similar problems for grandchildren is 20-25%.
Who is at risk
Most often, ophthalmologists diagnose a spasm of accommodation in children of school age - from the age of seven to twelve years. This condition is not yet complete myopia, and when performing myopia prophylaxis in children, diopters can be easily restored to normal. Not only schoolchildren, but also other categories of citizens are in the zone of special risk.
Who should be involved in the prevention of myopia and visual impairment of a different etiology:
- office employees (those who spend more than six hours a day behind the monitor);
- programmers;
- accountants;
- school teachers;
- people of all specialties who are forced to work on a computer for more than five hours daily.
Of course, adults have no choice: they have to earn a living, and many are forced to sit at the monitor for ten or more hours a day. In such a situation, special attention should be paid to measures to prevent myopia and other eye diseases. Regularly drink biologically active additives with thiamine, pyridoxine and blueberry extract. Do not allow the development of a deficiency of iodine, iron, magnesium.
The effect of posture on vision
Posture and a healthy spine are the basis of clear vision and a healthy ocular apparatus. People who have been diagnosed with osteochondrosis, scoliosis, kyphosis, flat feet, have little chance of maintaining the health of the lens. Over the years, impaired circulation will do its job - the eyeball tissue will stop receiving enough nutrients, and pathological changes will begin. Most often it is farsightedness, astigmatism, myopia.
Prevention of postural disorders and flat feet is also a prerequisite for eye health. Do not underestimate the importance of healthy circulation.
No wonder one of the most important points in the prevention of myopia in children and adolescents is performing gymnastics, which will ensure spinal mobility. Particular attention should be paid to exercises for the cervical and thoracic.
List of myopia prevention measures
Ophthalmology distinguishes the following most effective measures for the prevention of myopia in schoolchildren and adults:
- physiotherapy;
- exercises for the eyeball;
- exercises for the cervical spine;
- good nutrition;
- taking dietary supplements;
- the use of therapeutic drops and injections under the sclera.
For each individual patient, it is worth individually selecting a set of measures. If the cause of myopia is poor nutrition and a regimen in which a spasm of accommodation is inevitable, these causes should be eliminated first. When diagnosing a patient with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine - you need to throw all your efforts to eliminate this pathology.
Physiotherapeutic methods of prevention
List of the most effective physiotherapy methods to prevent the development of myopia:
- electrotherapy;
- shock wave therapy;
- vibration massage;
- laser therapy;
- balneotherapy;
- magnetotherapy.
You can pay for a course of these procedures in diagnostic centers or for free in a clinic. Often people buy devices for physiotherapeutic procedures for treatment at home.
Magnetotherapy and vibration massage are two of the most effective ways to prevent the development of myopia in the presence of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine. These are painless and even pleasant procedures. The role of the nurse in the prevention of myopia using physiotherapeutic methods is to explain to the patient that the electrodes are not so safe at all. When using special equipment, you need to follow a number of safety measures and not harm yourself.
Drug prevention methods
The use of tablets, dietary supplements and eye drops refers to the methods of drug prevention of myopia. The most effective of them:
- "Blueberry Forte" from the domestic company "Evalar" is a dietary supplement created specifically for people who want to maintain the health of the eye apparatus until they are old. The complex is enriched with blueberry extract and retinol. Contains zinc and ascorbic acid. Prevents the development of myopia, astigmatism, normalizes intraocular pressure.
- Vitrum Vision Forte is a tablet vitamin-mineral complex for the prevention of myopia in children and adults. It contains the necessary set of vitamins and minerals - selenium, iodine, zinc, iron, thiamine, pyridoxine, nicotinic acid. Effective when consumed in long courses (at least three months of continuous use).
- Pentovit is a tablet vitamin complex. It contains pyridoxine (vitamin B6), cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), thiamine (vitamin B1), which are necessary for normal blood circulation in the visual apparatus and brain regions responsible for the adequate processing of signals received by the lens.
- "Taufon" releases in the form of drops and ampoules with liquid for injection under the sclera. A vitamin preparation, the main active ingredient of which is the amino acid taurine. If the patient prefers to use Taufon for injections, a specialist is needed who will carry them out. The introduction process under the sclera requires the acquired skills of the confident hand of an experienced physician.
- "Irifrin" is a modern drug that allows you to achieve pupil expansion without side effects for the patient. Approved for use at home. Unlike other drops that can dilate the pupil, it has practically no contraindications and side effects. When instilled at night, "Irifrin" helps to relax the optic nerve and relieve eye fatigue.
The concept of hygienic prevention of vision problems
Most patients, having heard about visual hygiene, think that they need to rinse their eyes with water. This is not true. The concept implies the implementation of simple rules that will help not only to prevent myopia, but also to reduce the severity of symptoms of almost all eye diseases:
- the room should be well lit, optimally - daylight;
- Do not read or write when lighting a yellow incandescent lamp;
- do not strain the ocular apparatus in the supine position (i.e. do not read in bed);
- you can watch TV no more than an hour a day, work behind a monitor - no more than two hours;
- when reading and writing, the posture should be straight - the head does not bend over the paper, the back is not hunched over.
The role of the nurse in the prevention of myopia in children is important: it is her job to convey to children the importance of the rules of eye hygiene. An ophthalmologist examines the condition of the eyeball. He also reveals the degree of pathology - if myopia is all diagnosed, then it is very important to find out the number of diopters and the deviation of the axis. Further treatment and prognosis depend on these indicators. In some cases, only surgical laser treatment can help.
List of exercises to prevent myopia
If a person is at risk for eye diseases, he should definitely perform special exercises regularly. The eye apparatus has muscles, and they also need competent and regular training. For its implementation, you need to remember a special set of exercises. Prevention of myopia in children and adolescents includes daily performance of classes ten to fifteen minutes a day.
- Close your eyes, feel complete relaxation. It is advisable to carry out the training in complete silence.
- Open the eyelids (for some it is more comfortable to perform gymnastics with the closed ones - there is nothing wrong with that).
- Look as high as possible, having the pupils as high as possible, then lower them as low as possible. Repeat ten times.
- Look as far as possible to the left, then in the opposite direction. Repeat ten to fifteen times.
- Flatten your eyes in the nose, then relax the eyeball.
- Perform circular movements of the pupils, first ten times clockwise, then the same number in the opposite direction.
Accommodation Exercise Exercise
A wonderful exercise that relieves the spasm of accommodation:
- draw a point with a diameter of 0.5 centimeters on the glass of the window with a red marker;
- go to the window so that the point is at eye level, at a distance of about 50 cm from the pupil;
- look for ten seconds at a point, but at the sky or at a distant tree.
The meaning of this exercise is that with a constant change in the object of point of view, the ability of the ocular apparatus to focus on an object located at a different distance from the face is trained. Regularly performing this exercise is not only an excellent prophylaxis of myopia, but will also help restore vision for one or two diopters with already diagnosed myopia.
Nutrition as a preventative measure for vision problems
If a person is starving or is constantly on strict diets, he may lose his clarity of vision. Most often, this is a reversible process, but in some cases it takes on a permanent form.
If a person wants to maintain healthy vision until old age, he should observe the following nutrition rules:
- daily to receive the norm of protein and amino acids - they are important for the muscles of the eye apparatus, which are responsible for the accommodation process;
- try to eat blueberries as often as possible - it contains bioflavonoids that feed the optic nerve;
- lean on dairy products - they are rich in amino acids and calcium, which will help prevent the development of bone and skeleton diseases, as well as osteochondrosis of the cervical spine (it was said above that it is a common cause of eye diseases).
Medical advice: how to maintain a clear vision until old age
A myopia prevention leaflet should begin with the words “Take care of your eyesight from a young age”. Alas, today, by the age of ten, schoolchildren have acquired myopia in about 25% of cases. This is the most common disease of the visual apparatus among young people. Then students are waiting for exams, college, office work. As a result, by the age of thirty people have a whole bunch of visual pathologies.
Simple rules of visual hygiene, which are reported by the nurse at each ophthalmologist consultation, will help maintain eye health until old age:
- do not read or strain your eyesight in transport (metro and trains are not a place to study);
- daily to receive the norm of protein and amino acids, do not starve and do not go on diets;
- monitor posture and prevent the development of diseases of the spine;
- computer monitor should be located at a distance of 40-45 centimeters from the eyeball;
- Do not read in a darkened room or with artificial lighting.