Everyone wants to have good and clear vision, which will help to see objects in full, without distorting their boundaries and features. But not everyone can boast of it. Some are born already with poor eyesight, while others lose it when they grow up. The myopia of the eyes, whatever form it may be, differs in character. Its development may be suspended for some time, or, conversely, rapidly develop. It is important to determine how to stop progressive myopia in children and adults.
The main reasons for the development
To determine the severity of the disease, you should use the statistics, if myopia is common in young children from 3 to 16%, then in high school students it exceeds 16%. By the graduation class, almost 1/5 of all students suffer from myopia. This disease is also common in adults.
The main causes of progressive myopia are:
- heavy load on the visual organ;
- improperly prepared diet;
- poor daily activity;
- frequent colds, infectious diseases;
- dental diseases;
- poor quality of artificial lighting in the workplace.
All the described factors can affect visual acuity not only in children, but also in adults. Myopia is a disease that most often begins to spread in childhood. The causes of progressive myopia in adults and children are:
- climatic conditions in the place of residence;
- poor nutrition;
- bad ecology;
- the presence of harmful factors affecting the visual organ;
- hereditary factor.
Causes of Myopia in a Child
In a child, myopia can be hereditary, congenital, as well as acquired. Congenital progresses in the first year of a baby's life. Often occurs in premature babies who have a weak or very long sclera.
Acquired myopia appears in children aged 9 to 12 years. Many factors lead to its appearance:
- too fast growth of the baby, including the eyeball, is also called physical myopia;
- increased loads on the visual organ, for example, prolonged reading of a book;
- uncontrolled viewing of TV or other devices;
- poor diet - lack of trace elements and nutrients.
In the treatment of myopia in children, optical, physical and drug procedures are most often used. But the complex of therapy in any case will be determined individually.
How does the disease originate?
When the visual organ is exposed to negative factors, the axis of the eye lengthens. The diagnosis of myopia of the eyes can be diagnosed using echophthalmography. In the normal state, such an axis ranges from 22 to 23 millimeters, with the development of the disease, this value becomes more and more, reaching the mark of 30 millimeters. To what age does myopia progress? This process most often stops at the age of 18 to 20 years.
Progressive myopia in adolescents most often develops with intense tension in the visual muscles. At the same time, they begin to weaken gradually, which leads to a loss of image clarity.
To correctly diagnose myopia, it is important to identify its form: false or true. Distribution by type:
- False myopia It begins to progress in the absence of accommodation. In this case, visual acuity can be restored if you start taking "Gomatropin", "Scopolamine" or "Atropine".
- True myopia. This form of myopia does not go away even after eliminating the visual load. This form of lesion is acquired or congenital.
The acquired form of myopia in an adult progresses with a strong and prolonged visual load, eye and head injury or infection of the body. Congenital myopia appears in humans due to heredity.
The main signs of myopia
Depending on the degree of development of myopia, the patient's vision may be slightly blurry or completely blurry. The main symptoms of progressive myopia include:
- distance vision problems;
- motion blur of objects;
- with the development of myopia, the patient continues to see objects close up.
The described symptoms occur due to some changes in the visual organ - a change in eye size and optical power. A person with a high degree of myopia can see objects well even near his nose, but with an increase in distance everything starts to change dramatically.
Myopia is often combined with astigmatism of various forms. In this case, the patient may experience ghosting, distortion of objects and the appearance of characteristic blur.
Myopia can be true, while it increases the size of the eyes themselves, as well as false (spasm of accommodation). A spasm does not require wearing glasses or contact lenses, you can get rid of it by taking medications and conducting special therapeutic exercises.
The main sign of myopia, which can be seen even with an external examination of the patient, is the large size of the eyes. If the patient regularly wears negative glasses, then their thickness should depend on the degree of myopia (the higher the degree, the thicker). Thick glasses with myopia help to make the size of the eyes visually smaller.
What happens to the eyes
When conducting an eye examination, the doctor finds in the visual system the following changes characteristic of progressive myopia:
- retinal detachment;
- pronounced protrusion of the eye;
- light reflexes appear near the disk, which are not characteristic of a normal state;
- the spot on the retina begins to change greatly;
- myopic cones can be detected;
- there is a brush-like change in the thin inner lining of the eye.
With the progression of myopia, the protein coat begins to stretch very much, and the pigment epithelium atrophies. Since the membrane and epithelium are located in close proximity to the disk, such processes lead to the development of the myopic cone. With myopia of a high degree of development, the posterior wall of the sclera extends, degeneration and negative changes in the retina.
With strong stretching, the axis of the eye begins to form cracks in the choroid. Such cracks look like multiple sticks of yellow or white hue. After some time, the foci begin to merge with each other, forming one large affected area with pigment inside.
In the formation of spots on the retina, a person perceives the images surrounding him in a distorted form, his vision is greatly impaired, his sharpness decreases. If you do not visit a doctor on time, the condition can even reach blindness.
Carpal tissue degeneration is a pathological process that spreads to the external part of the fundus. After a couple of days on the retina with the help of diagnostic measures, small defects can be detected: round, slit-like or oval.
Progressive myopia can also be found in children who have recently been born. Most often, the main reason for this condition becomes heredity. During the development of the child in the womb in the early stages, various teratogenic factors act on it, provoking vision problems.
After the diagnostic procedure, the doctor without fail prescribes the patient a comprehensive treatment of the disease. But all existing methods of treatment can only temporarily stop the development of the disease and protect against complications.
Non-drug treatment
Progressive myopia, what to do? When treating eye disease in a non-drug way, it is important to follow these rules:
- often go outdoors, go swimming, walking, cycling, run;
- make the right diet, in which there will be foods with a lot of vitamins, minerals and protein;
- perform a special set of exercises for the eyes;
- reduce eye strain, stop overexerting them;
- laser correction of the ciliary muscle using low intensity: this treatment method helps to improve vision, increasing its sharpness, and also to stimulate blood flow;
- carry out physiotherapeutic procedures (painless methods): use electrical stimulation through the skin. This method helps to improve the blood circulation in the retina, reduce eye pressure, improve the sensitivity of receptors, as well as the circulation of intraocular fluid;
- therapeutic treatment - video-computer correction of the organ of vision: this method helps to restore the state of the nervous system and strengthen its control over the processes that take place in the visual organ.
Regardless of the cause of progressive myopia, its treatment is determined by an ophthalmologist.
Drug treatment
This method of treatment will not help restore the patient’s vision to 100 percent. But with the help of drugs, you can nourish the internal structure of the eye and normalize its condition.
All medications are divided among themselves according to the nature of their effects:
- Drugs that help adjust vision on a particular subject, regardless of how far it is from a person. Such remedies help restore a weakened ciliary muscle.
- Drugs that help strengthen the sclera.
- Medicines that suppress the level of pressure inside the eye
- Means that normalize metabolic processes in the vessels and retina.
It is important to remember that all drugs, regardless of the strength of their effects, are allowed to be used only after consultation with an ophthalmologist. The specialist will help to take into account all the features of myopia, determine its form and stage of development, as well as make an effective and high-quality treatment.
Non-surgical vision recovery
The first stage of treatment of progressive myopia in children and adults will consist of a diagnostic procedure. In this case, the doctor will accurately identify at what pace the disease is developing, and then decides whether to wear lenses or glasses. If myopia progresses in a child, then the doctor will prescribe glasses in any case.
Spectacle correction is the most common treatment for myopia. It is used for myopia with a high or weak degree of development. With a weak degree, it is best to use glasses only if necessary, since they, when improving visual acuity, simultaneously weaken the eye muscles, which is not very good for the visual organ. Regular wearing of glasses is recommended for myopia from 3 to 6 diopters. If vision begins to exceed 6 diopters, then doctors prescribe a correction for tolerance, but to completely cure vision and restore its sharpness in this case will not work.
If we talk about the choice of glasses, then they should be appropriate in size and improve visual acuity. When working with small objects or reading glasses, it is recommended to remove glasses.
Another treatment for progressive myopia is contact correction. The main advantage of this procedure is the formation of a single optical system with the eye. With this process, the muscles of the eye begin to function normally and strengthen. It is for this reason that wearing lenses in some cases corrects vision much better than simple glasses.
But it is important to remember that contact lenses cannot bring a good effect with high myopia, as it is located next to the eye.
The last, but not the worst method of treatment is orthokeratological. In this case, the doctor creates a special lens that helps to change the shape of the cornea. The patient wears such a lens at night, removes it in the morning and does not complain about his vision throughout the day. This method is considered quite effective and efficient. It is best used if myopia is in the range of 1.5 to 5 diopters
The operation on the organ of vision
The main goal of this treatment method is to stop the development of myopia. This method is used only when the degree of myopia has reached six diopters.
The principle of operation is that the component that delays the expansion of the eye is introduced into the eyeball. The main operations for myopia:
- Back scleroplasty. It is used if myopia is rapidly developing, and the reason for its appearance is associated with a change in the size of the eye. During surgery, small pieces of sclerotoplastic tissue are introduced into microscopic sections of the posterior wall of the eyes. This method is usually used if a woman is going to bear and give birth to a baby on her own. Myopia in this case should be in the range of 5 to 6 diopters.
- Special sclerotherapy injection. A special foaming polymer agent is introduced into the posterior part of the eye. When the drug enters the sclera, it becomes more elastic, acquires the structure of a kind of framework, which helps to improve the growth and restoration of connective tissue and stimulate the process of collagen production. After some time, the gel-like material begins to dissolve, and vision is restored. This treatment method is used if myopia progresses in an adult.
Hardware treatment
In the treatment of myopia, hardware treatment methods are used. Ophthalmic devices help improve the condition of the retina, and also normalize the blood supply process.
The most common and effective hardware techniques include:
- magnetotherapy;
- color effects;
- electrical stimulation.
If myopia develops more than 1 diopter per year, then without surgery in this case it is simply impossible to get rid of the pathology.
Invasive effect
To slow the progression of myopia, treating specialists most often prescribe an operation that will help to achieve the best result and lasting effect. For this, as a rule, laser correction is used. The essence of this procedure is to change the structure and optical density of the upper layer of the cornea by means of microscopic incisions with a laser device.
With poor eyesight (more than 6 diopters), refractive surgery is used, for example:
- Lensectomy - replacement of the lens of the eye;
- corneal plastic surgery - keratotomy, as well as radial keratoplasty.
In modern ophthalmology, excimer refractive surgery is considered more popular, in which modern high-quality laser devices are used that allow for minimal incisions. This helps reduce tissue injuries and provides a quick recovery process.
Surgery aimed at restoring vision can be combined, using computer technology, a laser, or with the participation of a treating surgeon.
To prevent possible complications after the operation to eliminate myopia (for example, deformation of the structure of the vitreous body), it is important to conduct a comprehensive examination before the procedure, to study in detail the types of diseases and possible problems that may arise during treatment.
A set of exercises for the eyes
It is important for people suffering from vision problems to regularly carry out special exercises that will help maintain muscle tone, restore visual acuity and improve general condition. Such gymnastics will help get rid of the feeling of eye fatigue and ensure normal blood supply to the organs of vision.
Eye exercises can be carried out both at home and in the office with prolonged work at the computer, reading a book or other activity in which vision is highly concentrated.
The most common set of exercises is considered an accommodator. It includes:
- Quick blinks within minutes.
- Focus your eyes on the finger held to the tip of the nose for 10 seconds, then relax your eyes for another 10 seconds. Repeat the exercise about 15 times.
- Close your eyes for 3-5 seconds, then open. The exercise is repeated 10 times.
- Place a finger of the right hand at a distance of two centimeters from the tip of the nose, close the left eye, move the gaze of the open eye to the tip of the finger for 5 seconds. Repeat the exercise for the other eye. Exercise is done 12 to 15 times.
- Follow with a glance the movement of the finger from the end of the nose to the distance of the hand. The exercise is performed 7 times.
- Without moving his head, move the pupils in different directions at high speed. Exercise is performed 10 to 15 times, while it is important to ensure that dizziness does not occur.
, , , , . ( , ) .
Preventive actions
:
To maintain visual acuity, it is important to be careful about your eyes.