The problem of visual impairment is now particularly acute. In the first grade, every fourth child has vision problems, by the sixth grade - every third, and for graduates - every second. Let's see what are the most common visual impairment in children, what it is connected with, and what can be done for prevention.
Visual impairment occurs when, for one reason or another, the eye loses its ability to adequate refraction (refraction of light), and a person begins to see objects distorted. Depending on this, several main types of disease are distinguished.
Myopia
In this state of vision , only objects that are literally at arm's length are clearly visible. But distant objects cannot be well examined, the image is blurry, does not have a clear outline.
The eyeball in patients with myopia is usually 5-6 millimeters longer than in healthy people. This disease occurs due to prolonged and regular eye strain. If the child focuses his eyes too often on nearby objects, then the eye muscle gets used and spasms in this state. The ability to rebuild a look at objects with different distances is significantly lost.
There are several degrees of the disease:
- Weak myopia: up to - 3 diopters;
- Average myopia: up to -6 diopters;
- Strong myopia: above 6 diopters.
A hereditary predisposition to myopia is very clearly traced. This is due to the characteristics of metabolism and sensitivity of the eye muscle, which are transmitted from generation to generation.
With myopia, glasses are worn to clearly see distant objects on the street and small details in the apartment. When reading or writing glasses must be removed.
Farsightedness
This is the opposite of myopia. With farsightedness, the closer the subject, the more vague its contours. Accordingly, distant objects are clearly visible. And with a large degree of farsightedness, only objects at a certain distance are clearly visible.
In this disease, the lens changes so that the light is not refracted enough, and the focus is formed outside the retina.
Hyperopia is divided into several degrees as well as myopia.
The reasons for its appearance are heredity, strain of vision, frequent inflammation and age-related changes in the eyeball.
With farsightedness, glasses are worn for reading and writing, and in other cases they are not needed if the degree of the disease is not very large.
Astigmatism
These visual impairments occur when the spherical shape of the cornea bends. Then she has different radii, which is why light is refracted at different angles. With astigmatism, myopia, farsightedness, and normal vision are observed simultaneously. In this case, the patient sees several contours of objects at the same time.
Corneal and lens astigmatism are distinguished - depending on which part of the eye is deformed.
For the child, special glasses and lenses are selected, which are made taking into account his individual manifestations of astigmatism.
Most often, this disease is associated with heredity and the congenital structure of the eye.
Prevention of visual impairment in adults
To slow down the aging process of the eyes and maintain their health, it is recommended to take complexes containing essential carotenoids, enzymes and antioxidants. For example, the dietary supplement Okuvayt® Forte. Its components - lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamins C and E, selenium and zinc, help to cope with eye fatigue, as well as prevent a decrease in visual acuity *.
Prevention of visual impairment in children.
It is not at all difficult to prevent visual impairment. To do this, you need to follow a few rules and tricks.
- You can start such a prevention from the cradle. To do this, hang rattles of green, yellow and orange color at a level of 30 cm from the baby's eyes. It is also useful to drive the toy closer and further away from the child so that he trains to focus his eyes at different distances.
- Limit the TV and computer as much as possible. According to the norms, a preschooler can spend no more than 40 minutes a day on this, a younger school student can spend no more than an hour, and children over 10 years old can spend about an hour and a half. At the same time, every 20 minutes you need to take small breaks for visual gymnastics.
- The child should walk in the fresh air for one and a half to two hours a day to provide the body with enough oxygen.
- Make sure that the child receives all the necessary vitamins and minerals for health. For vision, in particular, vitamins A and C. are important.
- Do it yourself and teach your baby to uncomplicated visual exercises so that they can relax the eyes and strengthen the eye muscles.
* Instruction for Supplements Okuvayt® Forte