Many parents are interested in what is astigmatism in children. In order to answer the question, first of all, it is necessary to study related concepts. Hyperopia (hyperopia) refers to refractive defects of the eyes. This is caused by insufficient elasticity of the eye lens. In this case, the rays of light converge behind the retina, and the resulting image is blurry. Continuous focusing can cause frequent headaches. Hypermetropia is corrected by contact lenses with positive diopter values. It is often difficult to notice signs of farsighted astigmatism in a child. If he began to complain of headaches and pain in his eyes while observing an object close to him, do not disregard this and do not refuse to visit an ophthalmologist.
Astigmatism in children - what is it?
In recent years, there has been an increase in such diseases in babies. The main reason for the development of far-sighted astigmatism in children is a genetic predisposition, and the risk of developing this pathology increases several times in those in whose family already has a relative with such a disease. In addition, the child may develop this pathology after surgical treatment of an eye disease, and also some time after an eye injury. So, in some cases, after eye injury, a small and completely invisible scar may form on the cornea, leading to blurry vision of objects and any other visual disturbances.
In children, complex far-sighted astigmatism of both eyes occurs in a milder form than in adults, and in children this pathology can be observed only in the left eye, which is why doctors prescribe special glasses for such patients. Moreover, such a deviation is not felt at the physical level and does not require correction. Another distinctive feature of astigmatism in a child is that the disease can manifest itself only in the left eye at a young age. In such cases, glasses are corrected only for one eye, and normal normal glass is taken for the other.
Complex astigmatism is quite successfully treated with many modern techniques. In some cases, with proper therapy, vision became normal by the age of 12 without surgical interventions, only with the help of eyeglass correction or hardware treatment. How chameleon glasses are used for vision and how effective this product is is indicated below.
Causes
As mentioned earlier, a congenital disease can be inherited from parents or through generations. Acquired has other causes of farsighted astigmatism in children:
- inflammatory diseases of the eye or degenerative;
- autoimmune diseases;
- eye injuries and burns.
Symptoms
Here are a number of possible symptoms (similar symptoms can also be detected in adults):
- Distortion or blurred vision when looking at both far and near distances. Many people describe the image seen in uncorrected farsighted astigmatism as a look in a wavy mirror. The level of visual distortion will depend on the degree of astigmatism.
- Headaches and associated fatigue are caused by distorted vision.
- The feeling of fatigue, lethargy in a child is caused by tension and increased eye pressure.
Astigmatism is a defect that is not only inherited, but can be acquired throughout life. In children, unresolved astigmatism can be the reason for the deterioration in school results, so its symptoms should not be underestimated.
Diagnostics
Such disorders can be treated, the main thing is not to prolong the problem, because the child himself, can not complain about his vision, only an ophthalmologist can detect the disease. Showing the baby to a specialist is recommended at 2 months of age. Diagnosis of far-sighted astigmatism in a child at the first stage is carried out by parents, the manifestation of the disease is such indirect signs as:
- Frequent headaches (especially in the forehead over the eyebrows) and dizziness.
- Dislike for reading and writing.
- Refusal to view picture books.
The second sign of complex astigmatism in a baby is his squinting and tilting his head at different angles when trying to examine something. Do not ignore the problem, attributing the behavior of the child to his moodiness and laziness. The presence of one of these signs is an occasion for parents to visit an ophthalmologist. For diagnosis, a specialist can use an autorefractometer or signs with symbols complete with a cylindrical lens. Recently, ophthalmologists have often resorted to the method of keratometry or computer topography.
Treatment
Currently, in order to treat farsighted astigmatism in a child, three methods are used: wearing glasses, contact persons or laser correction (excimer).
With glasses
In order to most effectively overcome the identified disease, doctors quite often prescribe specially designed, complicated glasses for which specially designed lenses made in the shape of a cylinder are placed. Doctors regularly remind their patients that those children whose illness is quite developed, when wearing such complicated glasses, may experience unacceptable sensations such as dizziness, pain, tingling in the eyes and other uncomfortable sensations of the visual organ.
The prescription for such complex glasses is different from the usual one in that it contains special instructions regarding the cylinder to be installed and on which axis it should be located. An important point is that before selecting glasses for a child, a detailed diagnosis is mandatory. This is done in order to pick up the correct points the first time, not to look for a replacement in case of an error, which could just happen due to poor-quality diagnostics.
Wearing contact persons for children with hyperopia astigmatism
If we talk about the treatment of this disease with the help of special contact lenses, it is important to say that until recently, only hard lenses were used for treatment. When worn, they gave the child quite severe inconvenience and negatively affected the ocular cornea. Thanks to the development of modern technologies and medicine, the most comfortable contact lenses - special toric ones - have been developed for the treatment of the disease. It is important to know and be sure to observe that after the appointment by the attending physician of contact lenses or glasses, you need to go to him for regular checks so that he can notice them in a timely manner when the disease improves or worsens, or if it’s more powerful or weaker.
Laser correction
Glasses or contact lenses can not give the child the desired result of the treatment of farsighted astigmatism. They give only a temporary result, and for the full treatment of this disease, you need to resort to operational methods - excimer laser correction. Currently, this method is the most popular and effective (in the presence of a disease with an indicator of up to ± 3.0 D).
Laser correction by the LASIK method is rather difficult to call an operation. The problem is that the duration of laser correction is approximately ten to fifteen minutes using conventional drip anesthesia. It is important to adhere to the following rule - you can hold the laser over your eyes for thirty to forty seconds, the time depends on the degree of farsighted astigmatism. At the time of the operation according to the LASIK method, a device specially designed for this is used - a microkeratome. It allows you to separate the upper layers of the cornea of the eye, its thickness should be at least 130 and not more than 150 microns. By separating the corneal layer, the laser beam can penetrate much deeper. After penetration, some of the cornea evaporates, and the flap falls into place and stays there thanks to collagen (the substance of the cornea).
After carrying out such a procedure of laser correction, no stitches are needed; restoration proceeds naturally. After carrying out the procedure according to the LASIK method, restoration takes a short period of time. Vision almost completely returns to normal after an hour or two from the moment the operation is completed, and full recovery comes at most after a week.
When to treat is not necessary
In a child up to the first year of life, farsighted astigmatism is a normal phenomenon. It is in this case that no treatment is required, since there is no problem and any discomfort. In children older than one year, far-sighted astigmatism in the left eye is often found. Treatment then also needs to be done in only one eye. If these are glasses, ordinary clear glass is placed on a healthy eye. For the treatment of various deviations, modern technological advances are used - the latest devices. If the disease was detected at the initial stage, in order to recover from it, it is enough to wear special cylindrical glasses. If you wear them regularly and correctly, the deviations can be completely eliminated, the images will no longer be distorted, and the light will be correctly focused. Vision correction with glasses allows you to avoid its loss and the occurrence of various deviations.
Until the child reaches the age of twelve years, vision can itself be restored without surgical intervention.
Surgery
If the disease is at a stage where it is impossible to do without surgery, then you need to resort to it. The operation is prescribed after the cure of amboyopia. The following surgical methods are distinguished:
- Excimer laser correction (discussed above).
- Thermokeratocoagulation. With the help of a thin needle, which is preheated to the required temperature, point burns are made.
If the disease is at a fairly serious stage, this is a strong deviation that requires long-term treatment. This is not necessary to be afraid of, since modern achievements allow us to overcome farsighted astigmatism forever and completely restore the normal vision of the child, and in the future avoid any kind of deviation. The main rule of any treatment is its timeliness and strict compliance with the recommendation of a doctor. Only in this case can you recover as quickly as possible and avoid any further deviations. In no case should you self-medicate, as this can lead to consequences, even the worst, up to the loss of the ability to fully see.