To put it very roughly, complex hypermetropic astigmatism in children is not a disease at all, but a kind of refractive impairment of the visual organ. But if it is not classified as a disease, this does not mean at all that astigmatism does not pose any threat. By itself, its manifestation can be characterized as a violation of the shape of the cornea or deformation of the lens. The task of parents is to immediately take the baby to a specialist at the first suspicion of the onset of the disease. Early treatment of complex hyperopic astigmatism in children is the key to success.
Reasons
Due to the fact that light is refracted, the focus of the object that is displayed in front of the eyes is not reflected on the retina itself, but either in front of or behind it. When a child has hypermetropic astigmatism, all objectsthat he sees in front of him appear to be slightly blurred, or they change shape slightly. You can show this with the following example: the picture shows a dot, and it seems to the child that an oval or even an ordinary dash is drawn. Such a deviation is treatable, and the sooner it becomes known and treatment procedures begin, the faster everything will pass.
It is important to say that a large number of children are already born with this disease, but it manifests itself in a mild form and, as a rule, before they reach the age of one year, it almost disappears on its own. This type of astigmatism is commonly called physiological.
But most often the disease is inherited. It can be detected at a very early age, especially if an experienced ophthalmologist takes up the matter, he will see the disease at a very young age, before the child reaches one year. Hereditary hypermetropic astigmatism is provoked due to the fact that the cornea or the shape of the lens has been disturbed. If the pathology was acquired during the life of the child, then it could have formed when any injury to the visual organ had previously been received, there was a slight dislocation of the lens, or deviations in the development of the teeth were found, due to which the shape of the eye walls changed.
Symptoms
The easiest way to determine this pathology in a schoolchild than in a young child. The baby does not realize that he has a vision problem, and makes almost no complaints, and the parentsfor a long period of not noticing anything.
The following symptoms of hypermetropic astigmatism in children can be noted:
- Inability to read the text, see the object up close.
- Lack of focus on the object.
- Fuzzy picture.
- Frequent tension, eye fatigue.
- Dizziness.
The baby may refuse to read or write and complains of a headache. In some cases, he may slightly tilt his head and squint his eyes in order to examine objects of interest to him. If parents saw one of these indicators in their baby, you need to consult an ophthalmologist.
Treatment
As you know, astigmatism in most cases is a hereditary disease, which means that it can be diagnosed and treated at early, undeveloped stages. Also, before the age of one year, astigmatism may go away on its own as you get older.
Another factor influencing the favorable prognosis of the therapy for astigmatism is that the formation of the organs of vision goes on until about 18 years of age, and before this period it is still possible to correct problems with a sparing conservative method. With complex hyperopic astigmatism in children, as mentioned above, corrective and drug therapy is carried out. However, it is aimed more at eliminating symptoms and improving visual acuity, while the disease itself is not cured. Fullyyou can get rid of this pathology surgically after the formation of the eyeball.
Modern medical practice offers the following treatments for hyperopic astigmatism of complex and simple forms.
Vision Correction Activities
They consist in the selection by the attending ophthalmologist of glasses with cylindrical glasses, which focus the light beam directly on the retina. At the initial stage of wearing glasses, the child may experience some discomfort, which consists in a slight dizziness, headache. But if the glasses are chosen correctly, then after a couple of weeks these symptoms disappear, and the child gets used to wearing glasses. At the same time, of course, the glasses are not very convenient and comfortable for children, they complicate the process of outdoor games, reduce peripheral vision, and quickly tire the eyesight. But the use of more comfortable contact lenses is acceptable only after the baby reaches the age of ten.
Apparatus gymnastics
Along with vision correction with glasses, an ophthalmologist recommends using another method for treating hyperopic astigmatism in children. Namely, to attend classes in apparatus gymnastics with the child, where the child's eyes are trained and corrected in an entertaining, playful way with the help of special exercises, as well as on modern equipment.
Medication treatment
Drug therapy for complex hyperopic astigmatism in both eyes in children consists in additionalenrichment (nutrition) of the organs of vision with the help of special eye drops. Among the most popular and most often appointed, the following can be listed:
- "Emoxipin" - eye drops with antioxidant properties, which also strengthen the walls of blood vessels;
- "Quinax" - prevents clouding of the lens.
It is important to note here that the choice of medications, their dosage is determined exclusively by the attending physician, self-medication in this case, as in many others, is unacceptable.
Complications
As a rule, most often hyperopic astigmatism in children is complicated by amblyopia. This is a condition where the brain does not capture the blurry vision from the astigmatized eye, and gradually the visual acuity in that eye decreases noticeably. It is necessary to correct this condition in early childhood, it is then that treatment can give a positive prognosis. Otherwise, this pathology cannot be corrected even by surgery.
Amblyopia treatment
Amblyopia can be managed with the above-mentioned modern hardware techniques, including:
- exposure to the eye by color, light or electromagnetic waves;
- laser retinal stimulation;
- hardware training on ophthalmic equipment "Amblicor";
- physiotherapy treatments;
- the most,perhaps the easiest way is to temporarily seal a he althy eye with a bandage or tape.
Asthenopia as a complication
Another complication of complex hyperopic astigmatism in children is rapid eye fatigue (asthenopia), which appears after any visual strain and is manifested by vagueness and blurring of objects, pain in the eyes, and decreased visual acuity. Such conditions are removed with the help of analogues of Atropine eye drops, but with a lower concentration suitable for childhood. To prevent asthenopia, it is important to pay due attention to eye gymnastics.
Further tasks
As the child grows older, it becomes clear whether the manifestations of hypermetropic astigmatism have been corrected properly using the above methods or the pathology is in a progressive stage that threatens to lose vision.
If significant results were not achieved, when the child reaches the age of 16-18, a decision is made on the surgical correction of astigmatism. Modern medical practice offers the following methods of surgical treatment of astigmatism:
- Correction of the corneal surface with laser thermokeratoplasty;
- correction of far-sighted astigmatism using laser keratomileusis;
- implementation of spot cauterization during thermocoagulation.
