What to ask at an appointment with a pediatric ophthalmologist: expert advice

Today we will consider the most important topics on preserving visual acuity in children. We spoke with the leading specialist of the children's department of the "Eximer" center, a doctor of the highest category, a member of the Association of Children's Ophthalmologists of Ukraine, a specialist in orthokeratological treatment Elena Varga. The expert named 5 main questions that should be asked to the optometrist.

Source: freepik

Olena Varga

Leading specialist of the children's department of the Excimer center, doctor of the highest category, member of the Association of Pediatric Ophthalmologists of Ukraine, specialist in orthokeratological treatment.

What are the rules for caring for a child's vision?

Now this is one of the most important topics, because the visual system is intensively loaded due to the active use of gadgets. And the child's organism does not yet have the reserves that can process such an array of information. Therefore, his visual system wears out much faster than that of an adult.

Prolonged, uninterrupted use of a smartphone or computer leads to negative consequences: myopia may develop, visual acuity may decrease up to amblyopia, in the case of farsightedness (which is normal in a child from birth), adult stress can even cause the appearance of strabismus.

That is why it is important that parents:

• took into account the size of the gadget's screen: a small diagonal is guaranteed to cause complications for the child's visual and nervous system. The larger the screen and the further it is from the face, the less vision problems there will be. Therefore, in the case of online training, it is better for the student to display the image from the phone on the TV screen, which is located at a distance of 3-5 m. This will help the student to preserve his vision even under intense stress. 70 cm is considered a safe distance for a computer;
• monitored the time the child spends on a smartphone. For a schoolboy, it should be no more than 20 minutes, while children under 6 should limit the use of gadgets as much as possible. The smaller the child, the less he should look at close objects that strain the visual system;
• provided good lighting: general, which should be of a warm color, plus a table lamp in the evening. But the best option is daylight, so place the table near the window so that the child can work comfortably;
• taught how to properly sit at the table during lessons. The distance to the book should be at least 35-40 cm. The book should be placed on a stand so that it does not lean low against the tabletop, and the notebook should be moved away from the edge of the table by at least 20 cm and placed at an angle;
• convinced the child to walk outside for 2-3 hours every day or even more. It is most difficult to explain this to teenagers. Explain that those who spend 90% of the time in a closed room are more likely to have problems with the visual and nervous systems. After all, indoors, these systems do not rest, because they are loaded. And on the street, in an open space, the inner muscles of the eyes relax as much as possible, plus movement has a positive effect on the whole body.

"Giving a 5-year-old a phone is a bad idea, because by the age of XNUMX, he may already be near-sighted. At all viewing small objects from a close distance is not useful. This is especially true for mothers who are trying to introduce their child to early development by drawing or putting together puzzles. Until the age of 3, the baby is still actively forming, developing at a very intensive pace, so it is not necessary to exhaust his visual potential. For games, choose large toys, and for viewing - large pictures, this requires farsightedness, with which almost all babies are born.Only at the age of 6 do they develop XNUMX% vision." - the expert marks.

Source: freepik

Is it possible to reduce vision due to heredity or a lack of farsightedness reserve?

It is worth noting the importance of examinations by an ophthalmologist, because not a single child has yet admitted that he has poor vision. He begins to complain only when he loses 70% of his vision. Therefore, parents should pay attention when a schoolchild begins to bend down to a book, approaches the TV screen, it is wrong to write something in notebooks, especially in the first grade.

A medical examination is necessary to understand how the child is developing, whether it is possible to give him so much load and in what volume. And he will detect congenital vision problems in time: astigmatism or farsightedness beyond the physiological norm of the child, congenital myopia, strabismus and congenital malformations that must be compensated with glasses, even when the baby is 2-3 years old. Otherwise, later on, a schoolboy may develop amblyopia — a "lazy eye" disease, when even glasses do not help to restore the quality of vision. And all because the examination was not carried out until the age of 5, at 6 - at school, heavy strain on the eyes began, in the end the visual system could not stand it and failed.

In addition, it should be borne in mind that ophthalmological problems can be inherited. If one of the parents has an eye disease, it is necessary to visit an ophthalmologist to find out what kind of farsightedness the child has. And if necessary, provide a gentle visual regime, more rest and walks in the fresh air.

Periods when surveys are conducted. Primary — in the maternity hospital, then in 3, 6 months and in hours. Then in 2-3 years, because even then it is necessary to react to hereditary problems in order to avoid amblyopia or strabismus. At the age of 6, an ophthalmologist determines the child's readiness for school, at the age of 7, he examines the impact of school stress on the eyes. It is mandatory to undergo an examination during the phase of active growth in adolescence.

"As for myopia. At the age of 6-7, when the child begins to grow rapidly, with intense visual stress and heredity, there is a risk of developing myopia. It is at this age that the disease most often manifests itself. Or later, in adolescence. Therefore, in the case of heredity, it is necessary to do an eye examination at least once an hour, especially during the phase of active growth:6-7 years, 10-14 — for girls, 12-16 — for boys,” - notes the specialist.

Source: freepik

Is it possible to stop myopia during active eye growth?

In childhood, there is an active growth of the eyes, which can lead to myopia with intense visual stress. However, there is a method that suspends, and in some cases stops, the development of myopia. These are hard night lenses. Together with the training of internal muscles with the help of physiotherapeutic devices, the problem can be stabilized. Many studies have proven that night lenses, in contrast to glasses, most effectively restrain the progression of myopia.

How do night lenses work? A little bit of anatomy. The cornea is a transparent eye shell covered with convex-shaped epithelial cells. Every time we blink, we brush the epithelium, which grows again during the day. The lens acts on the surface of these cells, changing their shape from convex to more even by literally a few microns. This is enough for the image to return to the retina and give one hundred percent vision. However, the cornea and the eye itself do not feel this action, because the specified cells are constantly exfoliated. That's why by the evening the visual acuity decreases a little, because part of the cells that "do not remember" the action of the lenses are already growing.

The lenses themselves have a very careful effect on the eyes: unlike soft day lenses, night lenses do not cause oxygen starvation. After all, over a thousand years of our evolution, at night, when we close our eyes, the access of oxygen to the cornea stops. This is a natural process, so it does not suffer from a lack of oxygen. In the morning, the child takes off the night lenses, and the cornea breathes all day.

Thus, there are no differences in visual acuity, as when wearing ordinary lenses or glasses. In addition, thanks to the action of the lens on the surface of the eye, the child receives a clearer image. In glasses, for example, it is not the same as in reality, because it decreases and moves away. So, when a child sees through his cornea, the image for his visual system is ideal.

In addition, night lenses have the function of peripheral defocus. Due to the fact that the lens gives the maximum concentration of vision in the center (in the macular zone), and positive refraction options occur on the periphery, this stabilizes myopia as much as possible.

At birth, the child is visually impaired. The brain perceives the function of insufficient visual acuity as a small eye and starts its rapid growth. If the vision is 100%, the brain understands that the eye has already grown enough, and the progression of myopia is slowed down.

Thus, the lens indirectly affects the stability of myopia and the constancy of visual acuity. Thus, we restore the work of the internal muscles of the eye and calm the nervous and visual systems, which work without exhaustion.

"The use of night lenses is effective together with hardware treatment, which is aimed at training internal muscles, improving blood circulation and blood supply in the anterior and posterior segment of the eye. "Excimera" offers a complex of physiotherapeutic devices, such as "rivers", laser stimulation, amblyocor, magnetophoresis, electrostimulation and the like. Thanks to them, the membranes of the eyes are strengthened and the work of the visual system is restored. Hardware treatment lasts 10 days.Sometimes it is enough to spend the ego once every six months." - explains the doctor.

Source: freepik

What to do when a speck of dust got into the eye, and what should be eye hygiene?

Algorithm of actions:

• you can wash off the dust yourself with ordinary water from the tap, the main thing here is to wash the eye from the outer edge to the inner one with a large volume of water. Why exactly such a direction? This is how a stream of tears flows;
• if the inflammatory process has already started due to a foreign body, be sure to consult an ophthalmologist, you can even go to an optician for help;
• after washing, you can add disinfectant drops and, just in case, still consult an ophthalmologist.

Eye hygiene. Now girls start doing eye make-up as early as the seventh grade. An ophthalmologist is against make-up at a young age, however, if she does make up, then only with high-quality water-soluble cosmetics. In no case do not sleep with makeup, because it can lead to eye inflammation. Therefore, in the evening, it should be thoroughly washed, and not just with water. There are special makeup remover wipes that clean and moisturize the eyelids without causing an allergic reaction, or cosmetic products. The main thing is that there are no remnants of cosmetics on the eyelids.

Eye hygiene at any age is mandatory: if we do not take care of our eyes, conjunctivitis begins, which is long and difficult to treat. Therefore, explain to the children that you should not touch or rub your eyes with dirty hands. If there is an itch, it is better to instill moisturizing drops. By the way, prolonged sitting in front of gadgets already at a young age forms dry eye syndrome. Because of this, children begin to scratch their eyelids, and barley may appear there.

Does nutrition affect the eyes?

Nutrition is important for good eye development and vision preservation. So how should you ask so as not to lose your vision?

The child's diet should be saturated:

• calcium means dairy and sour-milk products;
• vitamins A, E and fatty acids contained in fatty sea fish, seeds, nuts, butter;
• protein, which is abundant in meat. However, do not forget about the benefits of collagen, so it is necessary to eat not just meat, but also the cartilage base;
• trace elements are salad, greens, carrot-apple and pumpkin salads, for example with sour cream or butter.

"Let your child grow up healthy, learn without overloading the visual and nervous system, play a lot in the fresh air, use gadgets sparingly and ask questions in a balanced way. And you can find out all the questions about vision and its restoration from our specialists in "Excimer", — the expert concludes the conversation.