1ST CITY CLINICAL HOSPITAL

Since historical times, myopic people have been considered to be people who have poor distance vision and, up to a certain point, are good at working at close range. Translated from ancient Greek, myopia means squinting. Indeed, if you take a closer look at people suffering from myopia, you will notice that they squint their eyes or stretch their eyelids with their fingers to narrow the palpebral fissure and improve the visibility of distant objects. For myopic people, it is difficult to see the details of objects such as public transport numbers, road signs, approaching people and much more, which makes it easier to navigate the world around us and makes it more colorful and multifaceted. These phenomena are due to the fact that light rays passing through the cornea and lens are refracted in such a way that the image is projected not on the retina (the main structure of the eye that allows us to see the world around us), but in front of it.

Nature, as it were, foresaw the possibility of developing myopia and programmed it so that at birth, most children have farsightedness (hyperopia) - 91%, about 4% have normal refraction at birth, and only 5% of children are born with myopia. But by the time they reach adulthood, almost every third child suffers from myopia. So, according to international data, in preschool age myopia does not exceed 2-3%, at the age of 11-13 years myopia is observed in 14% of children, at 20 years of age and older in 25% of cases.

Myopia can be congenital or acquired. Progressive myopia occurs in childhood. The following children are at risk: premature babies (especially prone to developing myopia, in this group of children the incidence of myopia is from 30% to 50%); children who are weakened by their general condition (frequent acute respiratory infections, influenza, pneumonia), i.e. with reduced immunity; children of myopic parents, and if both parents have myopia, then the likelihood of myopia in the child is very high.

The environment, living conditions, study and work are also of great importance in the development of myopia. One of the main reasons for this trend is the information explosion of recent years, when we receive the lion's share of information from visual sources: TV, videos, books, magazines, newspapers. And the computer is increasingly taking the leading position in this list. Schoolchildren, in turn, are doomed to abnormal visual loads, non-compliance with occupational hygiene, including improper sitting at the table and excessive use of the computer and constant stress from communicating with teachers, tutors, peers, usually in a confined space, with minimal time spent fresh air, nature (physical inactivity).

All this leads to the fact that the first sign of myopia is the appearance of complaints in children of a feeling of bulging, pressure in the eye, headaches at the end of the day, and deterioration of distance vision. Attentive parents may notice that their child rubs his brow ridge in the evening or closes one eye while reading. Initially, vision loss may be temporary and reversible. The main thing is to identify this moment in time and prevent it from developing into myopia. This is why it is so important to have children's vision checked regularly. The progression of myopia (more than 1 diopter per year) can lead to irreversible changes both in the central parts of the retina and in the periphery of the fundus and is a common cause of visual disability in all groups of the population, due to complications of myopic disease (extreme degree of development of myopia ).

There are three degrees of myopia:

•   weak: less than -3 diopters,
• average: from -3 to -6 diopters,
• high: more than -6 diopters.

Prevention of this disease consists of a number of fundamental points.

For a child with myopia, visual hygiene is of great importance. For the most part, this applies to all children, even in the absence of any eye pathology. The child's visual loads must be dosed. Reading is only possible while sitting at a table in good lighting. Reading while lying down and while eating is not recommended. The length of time you watch television programs is of great importance. Children under two years old are not recommended to watch TV at all. This is due not only to stress on the eyes, but also to the effect on the central nervous system, which can lead to agitation of the child.

However, we cannot completely eliminate TV from our children's lives. We can recommend the following. For children under 7 years of age, the total duration of watching television programs should not exceed 30-40 minutes. in a day. At an older age, you can be allowed to watch TV up to 1.5-3 hours a day. In this case, the continuous load should be no more than 1.5 hours (one film). The type of TV (regular, “flat” screen, LCD panel, plasma TV) has virtually no effect on the tolerance of visual stress. When watching TV, the main harmful factor is prolonged visual stress at a finite distance. The same can be said about working on a computer. The duration of work at the computer should also not exceed 40 minutes per day.

In order to get rid of myopia in its early stages, it is necessary to form a number of daily habits. It doesn’t matter whether the child is at home or at school, it is necessary to properly design his workplace. Choose the right lighting mode - visual stress only in good lighting, using directional light, alternate visual stress with active, active rest, perform eye exercises. If accommodation is weakened, after 20-30 minutes of training, it is recommended to perform eye exercises. Strengthening the functional state of the body through physical exercise, hardening, rational nutrition enriched with vitamins. Detection and correction of postural disorders is very important.

Many parents believe that wearing glasses or contact lenses increases myopia, which is a major misconception. Research in the field of ophthalmology in both Europe and the USA has shown that not wearing glasses is the worst option. Most often, myopia occurs in children who spend a lot of time reading or working with objects that are close to their eyes.

Treatment.

Treatment of myopia in children is comprehensive, aimed at all aspects leading to its progression. Basically, the treatment of childhood myopia is conservative, including various methods of functional influence. These include classes on certain devices, various methods of physical treatment, and medicinal methods. As a rule, glasses are prescribed to treat childhood myopia. For low and moderate myopia - only for distance, for high myopia - for constant wear. However, the glasses themselves do not have healing properties, but are only a means of correction in the process of treating myopia in children.

Laser vision glasses . Recently, so-called poly-diaphragm glasses with a hole have appeared on sale. With their regular use, manufacturers promise a quick cure for any eye diseases. As for myopia, with this pathology, glasses with a “hole” simply create better conditions for vision by increasing the depth of optical focus. The same effect is achieved by squinting. Therefore, these glasses do not have any therapeutic effect. They do no harm, patients only lose precious time and do not receive real treatment.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to get rid of myopia before reaching the age of 18, but the main efforts should be aimed at correcting myopia (glasses, contact lenses) and preventing progression, which includes various methods:

• gymnastics for the eyes;
• prescription of medications (composition of drugs for dilation of the pupil: a substance acting on the muscles regulating the width of the pupil and a preservative), reducing spasm of accommodation;
• video computer vision correction;
• strengthening the functional state of the body;
• vitamin therapy.