Every person 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 this. Some are born with poor eyesight, while others lose it as they grow up. Myopia of the eyes, whatever form it may be, is different in nature. Its development may stop for a while, or, conversely, develop rapidly. It is important to determine how to stop progressive myopia in children and adults.
Main reasons for development
To determine the severity of the disease, you should use the statistics, if in young children myopia is common from 3 to 16%, then already 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.
Main causes of progressive myopia:
- strong load on the visual organ;
- incorrect diet;
- baddaily activity;
- frequent colds, infectious diseases;
- dental diseases;
- poor quality of artificial lighting in the workplace.
All the factors described 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;
- bad food;
- bad environment;
- presence of harmful factors affecting the visual organ;
- hereditary factor.
Causes of myopia in a child
In a child, myopia can be hereditary, congenital, or acquired. Congenital progresses in the first year of a baby's life. Often occurs in premature babies who have weak or severely stretched sclera.
Acquired myopia occurs in children between the ages of 9 and 12. Many factors lead to its appearance:
- too fast growth of the baby, including the eyeball, also called physical myopia;
- increased load on the visual organ, for example, long reading of a book;
- uncontrolled viewing of TV or other devices;
- poor diet - lack of micronutrients and nutrients.
In the treatment of myopia in children, the most commonly used procedures are optical, physicaland medicinal action. But the complex of therapy in any case will be determined individually.
How a disease is born
When exposed to the visual organ of negative factors, the axis of the eye is lengthened. Diagnosis of myopia of the eyes can be diagnosed using echo-ophthalmography. In the normal state, such an axis is located in the range from 22 to 23 millimeters, with the development of the disease, this value becomes larger, reaching the mark of 30 millimeters. Until what age does myopia progress? This process most often stops between the ages of 18 and 20.
Progressive myopia in adolescents most often develops with a strong tension of the visual muscles. At the same time, they begin to gradually weaken, which leads to a loss of image clarity.
To correctly diagnose myopia, it is important to identify its form: false or true. Distribution by species:
- False myopia. Begins to progress in the absence of accommodation. Visual acuity in this case can be restored if you start taking Homatropin, Scopolamine or Atropine.
- True myopia. This form of myopia does not go away even after the visual load is eliminated. This form of damage can be acquired or congenital.
Acquired form of myopia in an adult progresses with strong and prolonged visual load, trauma to the eyes and head, or infection of the body. Congenital myopia occurs in humans due toheredity.
Main signs of myopia
Depending on the degree of myopia, the patient's vision may be slightly blurry or completely blurred. The main symptoms of progressive myopia include:
- distance vision problems;
- blurring the contours of objects;
- with the development of myopia, the patient continues to see objects well up close.
The described symptoms occur due to some changes in the visual organ - a change in the size of the eyes and optical power. A person with a high degree of myopia can see objects well even near his nose, but as the distance increases, 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 a characteristic blur.
Myopia can be true, while it increases the size of the eyes themselves, as well as false (spasm of accommodation). Spasm does not require wearing glasses or contact lenses, it can be relieved by taking medications and performing 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 minus glasses, then their thickness should depend on the degree of myopia (the higher the degree, the thicker). Thick glasses for nearsightedness help make the size of the eyes visually smaller.
What happens to the eyes
During an eye examinationthe doctor finds the following changes in the visual system, characteristic of progressive myopia:
- retinal detachment;
- expressed protrusion of the eye;
- light reflections appear near the disk, which are not typical for the normal state;
- the spot on the retina starts to change a lot;
- myopic cones can be detected;
- a racemose change occurs in the thin inner lining of the eye.
With the progression of myopia, the protein shell begins to stretch strongly, 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 a myopic cone. With a high degree of myopia, the extension of the posterior wall of the sclera, degeneration and negative changes in the retina occur.
When strongly stretched, the axis of the eye begins to form cracks in the choroid. Such cracks look like multiple yellow or white sticks. After some time, the lesions begin to merge with each other, forming one large affected area with pigment inside.
When spots are formed on the retina, a person perceives the surrounding images in a distorted form, his vision deteriorates greatly, his sharpness decreases. If you do not visit a doctor in time, the condition can even reach blindness.
Carpal tissue degeneration is a pathological process that extends to the outer part of the fundus. After a couple of days on the retina with the help of diagnosticmeasures, small defects can be detected: round, slit-like or oval.
Progressive myopia can also be found in newly born children. Most often, the main cause of this condition is heredity. During the development of a child in the womb in the early stages, it is affected by various teratogenic factors that provoke vision problems.
After the diagnostic procedure, the doctor without fail prescribes a complex treatment of the disease to the patient. But all existing methods of treatment can only stop the development of the disease for a while and protect against the occurrence of complications.
Non-drug treatment
Progressive myopia, what to do? When treating an eye disease in a non-drug way, it is important to follow the following rules:
- go outdoors often, swim, walk, cycle, run;
- create the right diet, which will contain foods with a lot of vitamins, trace elements and protein;
- perform a special set of exercises for the eyes;
- reduce eye strain, stop overstraining them;
- Low-intensity laser ciliary muscle correction: This treatment helps to improve vision by increasing its sharpness and also stimulates blood flow;
- Perform physiotherapy procedures (painless methods): use electrical stimulation through the skin. This method helps to improve the process of blood circulation in the retina of the eye,reduce eye pressure, improve receptor sensitivity, as well as intraocular fluid circulation;
- 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 the ophthalmologist.
Medication treatment
This method of treatment will not help restore the patient's vision to 100 percent. But with the help of medicines, you can nourish the internal structure of the eye and normalize its condition.
All medicines are divided among themselves according to the nature of their effect:
- Drugs that help adjust vision on a specific object, regardless of how far it is from a person. Such remedies help to restore the weakened ciliary muscle.
- Drugs that help strengthen the sclera.
- Drugs that suppress the level of pressure inside the eye
- Means that normalize metabolic processes in the vessels and retina of the eye.
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 draw up an effective and high-quality treatment.
Non-surgical vision restoration
The first stage of treatment for progressive myopia in children and adults will consist of a diagnostic procedure. In this case, the doctor will accurately identify the pace at which the disease develops, and then decide whether to prescribe wearing lenses or glasses. If myopia progresses in a child, then the doctor will prescribe glasses anyway.
Optical correction is the most common treatment for myopia. It is used for myopia of a high or low degree of development. With a weak degree, it is best to use glasses only if necessary, since they simultaneously weaken the eye muscles while improving visual acuity, 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 tolerance correction, but in this case it will not be possible to completely cure vision and restore its sharpness.
If we talk about the choice of glasses, then they should be appropriate in size and improve visual acuity. It is recommended to remove glasses when working with small objects or reading.
Another method of treating progressive myopia is contact correction. The main advantage of this procedure is the formation of a single optical system with the eye. With the help of such a process, the muscles of the eye begin to function normally and become stronger. 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 bringgood effect with high myopia, as it is located next to the eye.
The last but not the worst treatment method is orthokeratology. 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
Surgery on the organ of vision
The main goal of this method of treatment is to stop the development of myopia. This method is used only when the degree of myopia has reached six diopters.
The principle of the operation lies in the fact that the component that delays the expansion of the eye is injected into the eyeball. Basic operations for myopia:
- Posterior 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 sclerotoplasty tissue are inserted into microscopic incisions in the back wall of the eyes. This method is usually used if a woman is going to endure and give birth to a child on her own. Myopia in this case should be in the range of 5 to 6 diopters.
- Special sclero-strengthening injection. A special foaming polymer agent is injected into the posterior part of the eye. When the drug enters the sclera, itbecomes more elastic, acquires the structure of a kind of skeleton, 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 method of treatment is used if myopia progresses in an adult.
Hardware treatment
In the treatment of myopia, hardware methods of treatment are used. Ophthalmic devices help improve the condition of the retina and normalize the blood supply process.
The most common and effective hardware techniques include:
- magnetotherapy;
- colour exposure;
- electrostimulation.
If myopia develops by more than 1 diopter per year, then without surgery in this case it is simply impossible to get rid of the pathology.
Invasive impact
To slow down the progression of myopia, treating specialists most often prescribe an operation that will help 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 through the implementation of microscopic incisions with a laser device.
For poor vision (greater than 6 diopters), refractive surgery is used, for example:
- lensectomy – replacementlens 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 to make minimal incisions. This helps reduce tissue trauma and ensures a quick recovery process.
Surgical intervention aimed at restoring vision can be combined, using computer technology, a laser, or with the participation of the attending surgeon.
To prevent possible complications after myopia surgery (for example, deformation of the vitreous body structure), 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 the treatment.
A set of exercises for the eyes
People suffering from vision problems, it is important to regularly carry out special exercises that will help maintain muscle tone, restore visual acuity and improve overall condition. Such gymnastics will help get rid of the feeling of eye fatigue and ensure normal blood supply to the organs of vision.
Exercises for the eyes can be done both at home and in the office when working at a computer for a long time, reading a book or other activity in which vision is highly concentrated.
The most common set of exercises is the accomodation trainer. It includes:
- Fast blinking for several minutes.
- Focus on the finger held to the tip of the nose for 10 seconds, then relax the eyes for another 10 seconds. Repeat exercise about 15 times.
- Close your eyes for 3-5 seconds, then open them. The exercise is repeated 10 times.
- At a distance of two centimeters from the tip of the nose, place the finger of the right hand, close the left eye, look at the tip of the finger with the open eye for 5 seconds. Repeat the exercise for the other eye. The exercise is done 12 to 15 times.
- Follow 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 your head, move your pupils in different directions at high speed. The exercise is performed 10 to 15 times, while it is important to ensure that dizziness does not occur.
It is important to remember that there are no drugs, ointments and drops that can completely get rid of myopia. Only complex treatment (using correction, invasive methods) can bring an effective result and save the patient from a progressive disease.
Prevention measures
The main preventive measures include:
- if a person has to strain his eyes for a long time, then he should take a break and give his eyes a rest every forty minutes (rest lasts for 10 minutes);
- when reading, the book should be placed on a special stand, and not placed below eye level;
- do special exercisesfor the eyes, aimed at improving visual acuity;
- go outdoors more often, try to protect yourself from stressful situations and emotional experiences.
It is important to take good care of your eyes to keep your eyes sharp.
