Eye diseases in children: a list from birth to school age. What eye diseases are most common in children: a complete list

7-06-2010, 21:26

Description

At the appointment with an ophthalmologist

Pediatric ophthalmologist(from the Greek "ophthalmos" - eye) deals with the assessment of the state of the organ of vision and its functions in children. Often referred to as an eye doctor ophthalmologist- from the Latin word "oculus".

Many defects organ of vision, disturbing adults, arise in childhood, often the cause eye diseases found in early age and sometimes even before birth.

Parents often turn to ophthalmologist to find out if everything is in order with the eyes of their child, which may mean certain signs.

A number of such questions can decide on your own if you know fundamentals of the structure and function of the child's eyes, pay attention to unusual external signs of the structure of the eye, redness of the eyes, white color of the pupil area, etc.

But with diseases of the fundus, eye injuries, you must consult a doctor.

Fundamentals of the structure and function of the eyes

Eye It is shaped like a table tennis ball.

From the outside, only the anterior part of the eyeball is visible. This is a transparent section of the outer (fibrous) membrane, called the cornea, and triangular white color areas of the opaque section of the same shell - the sclera.

Through cornea visible deeper than the outer choroid, more precisely, its beautiful front part is the iris, which each person has an individual pattern and color.

There is a round hole in the center of the iris pupil. Back departments outer and choroid are not visible. Most choroid, in the depths of the eyeball, lines the inner shell - the retina.

The space between the cornea and the iris (anterior chamber) is occupied by transparent aqueous humor. Behind the iris is the lens - a biconvex biological magnifying lens that has the size of a pea. The main volume inside the eye is filled with a transparent colorless gelatinous vitreous body.

The eyeball is often simplistically compared to a camera. Like the body of a camera, the sclera gives it shape and protects what is inside this fragile device.

Cornea, as the front lens in the lens condenser, collects light rays into a beam, the choroid acts as a diaphragm.

The horizontal section of the eyeball and, like a cassette, protects the "holy of holies" of the eye - the retina, which can be compared to an extremely sensitive photographic film, from excess light.

Horizontal section of the eyeball

The proverb says: Take care of your eyes like a diamond».

The diamond is stored in a box, placing soft foam rubber under it. Such a protective case for eyeball serves as a bone cavity - the orbit, lined with fatty tissue.

Each eyeball is suspended in the orbit on six muscles, the contraction of which simultaneously turns both eyes towards the object in question. In front, the eye socket is covered with skin-muscle folds - the upper and lower eyelids. Eyebrows grow above the upper eyelids, preventing moisture from rolling off the forehead. At the edges of the eyelids are eyelashes and glandular outlets. The visible anterior sclera and the posterior surface of the eyelids are covered with conjunctiva - a thin mucous film, just as in the mouth the gums and lips are under a thin transparent mucous membrane.

Eye constantly moistened by numerous small inconspicuous lacrimal glands of the conjunctiva. Tears with profuse flow and when crying also produce a large lacrimal gland located under the upper outer edge of the orbit.

Tears roll down to the inner commissure of the eyelids. Near the inner corner of each eyelid is the lacrimal punctum, which begins the lacrimal canaliculus, which flows into lacrimal sac. Further, the lacrimal ducts open into the nasal cavity, where the tear eventually flows. Therefore, when a person cries, he begins to "squish his nose."

If there are a lot of tears, they do not have time to get into the nose and flow down the cheeks.

Job eyes in the act of seeing resembles the function of a microphone when recording sound.

The hardest journey is just beginning with the retina visual perception , in which further optic nerves take part, partially crossing each other (this formation is called chiasma), visual pathways in the brain tissues, subcortical visual centers and bundles leading from them to the spur groove occipital lobe brain - the cortical center of the visual analyzer. It is in this place of the cerebral cortex that the final perception of what we see is formed.

Lacrimal organs

Visual acuity and its definition

One of basic functions of the eye - visual acuity, or the ability to recognize the smallest objects at the maximum distance.

It is believed that a person who can count the fingers on his hand from a distance of 50 m sees well. The angle between the retina and the sides of the finger has a width of 1 minute. This ability - to see at an angle of view equal to 1 minute - is called a unit (1.0), or, as they sometimes say very simply, one hundred percent vision.

When viewing objects at the same distance visual acuity the higher, the smaller objects can be considered. That is, visual acuity is the higher, the greater the distance a person can see objects of the same size.

Typically, visual acuity tests are placed at a distance of 5 m. The most commonly used table for this purpose is Sivtseva-Golovina. If we consider it from a distance of 5 m, then visual acuity equal to one corresponds to a clear vision of the tenth line from the top.

If a person sees signs of only the first line, this corresponds to vision reduced by 10 times, that is, 0.1.

When determined according to the Sivtsev-Golovin table from a five-meter distance, visual acuity when seeing each subsequent row of letters is 0.1 higher.

So, if a child distinguishes only the letters of the third row, his visual acuity is 0.3. In the tables, instead of letters, there may be rings of different sizes with a gap, by the distinction of which one judges visual acuity.

For examination of children who do not know the letter, it is widespread. Before determining the vision of such a child, you should bring him to the table and check whether he names the drawings correctly. It should be borne in mind that the attention of children is quickly depleted.

Visual functions of children's eyes have a long maturation period.

For children of three years visual acuity of 0.2-0.3 can be considered normal.

For four year olds it is equal to 0.6.

And by the time school enrollment visual acuity the child reaches 0.7-0.8.

If the child is not able to distinguish the first line of the table from a distance of 5 m, that is, his vision is less than 0.1, then you should show him fingers from different distances.

The ability to count fingers from a distance of every meter is regarded as 0.02: counts fingers from one meter - 0.02, from two - 0.04, from three - 0.06, from four - 0.08. If the child does not have object vision and he is not able to distinguish between fingers, but only sees a hand near his face, his visual acuity is 0.001.

If the child does not even distinguish light, his vision is zero (0), but if there is light perception, visual acuity is regarded as 1.

How to determine if you see infant?

To do this, you need to check whether his pupil reacts to the bright light of an electric flashlight directed at him.

Aged one month the child usually follows objects moving at a distance of 20-40 cm from his eyes. TO three to four months he already sees objects more distant from him, and in four-six months, the baby visually reacts to familiar faces. If the baby does not see what other children of his age see, parents should show him pediatric ophthalmologist y.

When the vision of each eye is checked separately, the other eye must be covered.

uneven response to turning off the right and left eyes means the difference in their visual acuity.

Important, but not the only condition good vision is the need for the rays coming from objects to connect exactly on the retina. This is possible if the length of the eye and the power of its optics - refraction - correspond. The proportionality of the length and optics of the eye is called emmetropia, disproportion - ametropia.

If the eye small size or the optics are weak, parallel rays will converge only behind the retina, and the image on it will be blurry. The closer to such an eye the object observed by him, the rays from it converge farther from the retina and the worse a person with weak refraction sees. Since he sees distant objects better than close ones, he is called far-sighted.

Some eye length too high or its refractive power optics too strong, so parallel rays from distant objects will converge in the eye before reaching the retina. Only divergent rays from nearby objects can gather on the retina.

Therefore, such refraction called myopia- myopia. To compensate for vision with myopia, to part the rays and make refraction weaker, “minus” glasses placed in front of the eye can. With farsightedness on the retina, rays that had a converging direction even before they hit the eye could connect. But in nature there are no such rays.

Gathering rays can be created artificially - by placing a convex "plus" glass on the eye. The figure shows the change in the course of the rays when the glasses are in front of the eyes with different types disproportionate refraction. The eye itself can to some extent change its refractive power when viewing objects at different distances. This is possible due to the fact that the curvature changes, and hence the refractive power of the lens.

The course of the rays and the visibility of the observed object at different distances from the eye

This adaptation (focusing) of the eye to vision at different distances is called accommodation.

If a child sees badly far-lying objects, and when minus glasses are placed in front of the eye, his vision improves, he probably myopic.

farsighted the child, thanks to the tension of his accommodation, copes with distance vision more often. But looking at close objects for a long time, he can quickly get tired, since his accommodation is not enough to reduce very divergent rays on the retina.

If, when a child looks into the distance, a convex glass is attached to the eye does not impair his vision, does not artificially create myopia, then the child is probably farsighted. In addition to such simple, but subjective methods, depending on the answers of the subject, there are also objective methods for determining refraction, which can only be used by a doctor.

Only an ophthalmologist can correctly determine refraction and answer the question of whether a child needs glasses.

Myopia

Myopia is not the same in terms of onset, degree of refraction enhancement, complications and prognosis for vision.

Doctors distinguish three types of myopia:

- usual school myopia,

congenital myopia,

myopic disease.

Most children suffer school myopia, which usually begins at a time when the child is still in the elementary grades of school. It increases slowly and rarely reaches high degrees by adulthood. Anatomical disorders of the eye in school myopia are either absent or very minor.

table lamp power of 60 V t, illuminating workplace child, it is recommended to cover green lampshade.

In the class of a nearsighted child, it is desirable put on the middle row closer to the board.

Watching TV or using a computer is allowed no more than 1 hour per day. The monitor should not stand in front of a window that reflects on the screen.

An important role is played good nutrition , stay on fresh air at least 1.5 hours in a day.

Myopic children beneficial exercise, but only a doctor can determine the physical activity acceptable for a short-sighted child. Depending on the degree of myopia, due to the high tension and the possibility of injury, a number of sports are contraindicated: boxing, wrestling, weightlifting.

Myopic children sometimes drugs are prescribed, which, according to a number of doctors, are designed to improve the nutrition of the eye and strengthen its membranes and blood vessels. However, even without active intervention in most children, the progression of school myopia slows down on its own and stops further by adulthood. Therefore, at the current level of medical science and practice, any very active intervention (especially surgical) in order to restore high vision in case of school myopia should be treated very carefully.

Sometimes myopia occurs from birth. This is the so-called congenital myopia. In such children, the degree of myopia is high and there are usually pronounced anatomical changes in the eye. The disease is diagnosed by the age of one to three years. It rarely progresses, that is, the degree of such myopia. Accommodation rarely increases with age.

Accommodation

At myopic disease the degree of myopia that began at any age increases very quickly. Glasses have to be changed more than once a year. At the same time, it is not possible to achieve satisfactory visual acuity even with strong corrective glasses. The doctor detects changes in the fundus early - symptoms of degenerative lesions of the retina and optic nerve.

If the rays cannot gather at one point of the retina due to the fact that the refraction in different sections of the eye is not the same, refraction is called astigmatism. The image in such cases remains blurry when any spherical glasses are placed on the eye, and only cylindrical glasses can correct this defect.

Define refraction and it is difficult to prescribe the appropriate optical assistance due to the fact that young people have very strong accommodation, that is, the lens, constantly changing its curvature, changes the refractive index.

With a long excessive stress child's accommodation(for example, with frequent viewing of small objects at a very close distance, reading in low light, and the like), a temporary increase in refraction occurs. This is an accommodation spasm, which is also called false myopia.

To determine what kind of refraction a child really has, he has to instilling drops of atropine into the palpebral fissures temporarily eliminating the possibility of accommodation. Having lost accommodation after instillation of atropine, the child may note that it has become worse to see at close range; the pupils of the child become wide and cease to narrow in the light. All these phenomena are not dangerous and soon pass. Sometimes, after instillation of atropine, the child's face may turn red.

To reduce the possibility of this phenomenon, the child should often drink water or milk.

Many children with disproportionate refraction have to use glasses.

Never buy glasses for children without a doctor's prescription!

It is very important to choose comfortable spectacle frame so that the child experiences less discomfort when wearing glasses. It is important that the bridge of the frame matches the width of the bridge of the nose of the child, and the temples of the glasses hold them firmly on the face and do not press behind the ears.

The main part of the points- lenses. They can be made from glass or plastic. Plastic lenses are lighter in weight, they break less often, but they scratch much faster. Which lenses to prefer is not so important.

It is important that their plane in glasses is parallel to the corneas, and the optical centers of the lenses correspond to the centers of the pupils. And, of course, the lenses must be of the right strength.

Rules for using glasses

To keep glasses less damaged, they should be stored in a hard case.

Glasses should not be placed with the lenses down.

Glasses should be washed periodically warm water with soap and wipe with a special clean cloth.

Teenagers sometimes prefer vision correction with contact lenses. Caring for contact lenses for children is currently much more difficult than for glasses. Their use, individual storage and sterilization is taught by a doctor who has selected contact lenses of a certain company, he will also recommend care products for these lenses.

Eye diseases

Strabismus

Strabismus- this is the non-parallel position of the eyeballs when looking into the distance. This is one of the most common causes of concern for parents.

false impression strabismus in an infant up to a year may arise due to the oblique direction of its palpebral fissures. For staging preliminary diagnosis you can direct the light of a flashlight into the child's face: in the absence of strabismus, the reflection will be symmetrically located on the black background of the pupils of the right and left eyes.

The true strabismus- not only a cosmetic defect, but a violation of health.

Cause of strabismus- a disorder in the coordinated activity of the muscles of the right and left eyes. The basis of inconsistency can be both structural disorders of the muscles themselves, and disorders nervous regulation joint activity of these muscles. Therefore, such a child should be consulted with an ophthalmologist and a neurologist as soon as possible.

If the reason is not related to neurological problems, strabismus will be corrected ophthalmologist. It will determine whether the right and left eyes transmit the same image to the brain from one object, that is, whether there is full binocular vision. In case of violation of binocularity, the image can bifurcate, then the child's brain will try to turn his eyes so that a signal from the worst eye is not sent to him.

Therefore, with strabismus ophthalmologist First of all, he tries with glasses to make the visual acuity of each eye equally high. If glasses alone fail to improve the visual acuity of the worst eye (this is called amblyopia), the ophthalmologist forces the brain to develop an amblyopic eye by training.

In most cases, this is achieved with a sticker or drops that temporarily turn off information from better eye: the worst (ambliopic) eye forced to work hard at the same time increases its visual acuity. When the child's brain again begins to receive a double image, then by special exercises they are merged into a single stable three-dimensional image.

Treatment of strabismus- a task of several years, requiring very great efforts from both the child and his parents. Wearing glasses and eye exercises are often replaced by surgery on the oculomotor muscles, then again exercises for the eyes are prescribed.

Experts believe that with persistent treatment, binocular vision and the parallel position of the eyes can be restored in more than half of the children who mowed.

If the eye is outwardly not the same as everyone else

Examining their child, parents sometimes notice any unusual signs of eye structure in him.

Normal appearance eye

The inner corner of the palpebral fissures can be covered by a fold of eyelid skin called epicanthus. This innocent crease is very common in newborns, and then with the increase in the back of the nose they usually disappear - by about one year old. Sometimes it's just a cosmetic feature of some human races.

epicanthus

The absence of a section of the eyelid - a coloboma of the eyelid - requires a mandatory consultation with a doctor, since if the cornea is constantly left uncovered, it can dry out.

Upper right eyelid coloboma

Eyelid omission - eyelid ptosis and non-closure of the eyelid - lagophthalmos may be the result of injury nervous system child and require medical advice.

At the same time, newborn children do not open their eyes much, as they sleep almost constantly. In many healthy infants, the eyelids remain open during sleep - there is nothing to worry about.

Ptosis of the right upper eyelid

Lagophthalmos of the left eye

The edges of the eyelids and eyelashes can be wrapped to the side eyeball, This - inversion of the eyelids. Or, on the contrary, the mucous membrane of the eyelids and eyelashes are separated from the eye, this is eyelid eversion.

Such states usually not dangerous, but inversion of the eyelids can lead to scratching of the cornea with eyelashes, and eversion - to the drying of the mucosa. How much it is necessary to immediately intervene in these conditions, the doctor will decide.

Inversion of the lower left eyelid

Eversion of the upper right eyelid

Enlargement of the entire eyelid or parts of it may be called edema. With swelling, the skin of the eyelid shines; if the edema has inflammatory character skin turns red. Edema of the eyelids occurs quite easily and can quickly change its size. Why the edema occurred and what should be done in such cases, the doctor must decide.

Eyelid tumors are rare in children. They appear as immobile limited formations- dermoids, lymphangiomas.

Dermoid- dense benign education around the corner of the eyelids.

Lymphangioma- colorless elastic formation, it is usually indistinctly limited, deforms palpebral fissure. Such formations grow slowly, the color of the skin over them does not change. The child should be seen by an ophthalmologist, as these benign tumors can be confused with other diseases that require active treatment.

Sometimes the child enlarged eyelid or its area has a pigment-altered color, this is a manifestation of a pigmented tumor - nevus. A timely consultation with a specialist will allow you to choose the right tactics - observation or active treatment.

Protrusion of the eyeball from the orbit- exophthalmos or retraction of the eye in it - enophthalmos occur due to a change in the volume of the contents of the orbit. An examination by a specialist will show how dangerous these changes are for the vision, and sometimes for the life of the child.

Sometimes child significant corneal diameter change.

Why are the sizes of the corneas changed, is this a decrease in the entire eye - microphthalmos or an increase in the entire eye - hydrophthalmos?

An increase in the size of the cornea in a child over 11 mm is often caused by an increase in intraocular pressure - pediatric glaucoma. This is a serious eye disease that leads to significant loss of vision, requires observation and treatment by an experienced ophthalmologist!

An ultrasound or modern X-ray examination allows you to accurately determine the size of the cornea and the entire eyeball.

Hydrophthalmos on the right

Microphthalmos on the right

Changing the shape of the pupils in a child may occur due to adhesions of the iris with the lens - synechia, and also be a manifestation of incomplete fusion of the embryonic fissure of the eye before birth - iris colobomas.

Sinekhin on the left eye

Sinekhin on the left eye

Red eyelids and eyes

Causes of eye redness and age can be different diseases.

Red staining skin age of the newborn may be the result of subcutaneous hemorrhage that occurred during childbirth, as well as benign tumor - hemangiomas. Usually, eyelid hemangioma gradually becomes paler with age, its size decreases, and it may disappear on its own. If such a spot increases, one should resort to surgical or radiation treatment.

In cases where child's eyelid skin before it was normal, and then turned red, you should think about inflammation of the skin - dermatitis caused by drugs, food allergies, and in adolescence and the use of cosmetics. If, in addition to redness, there is swelling, pain, movement disorders of the eyelid, then it is likely inflammatory cause changes. Swelling and redness of the skin of the eyelids may also be due to insect bites.

Inflammation of the edges of the eyelids - blepharitis- manifested by redness and thickening of the edges of the eyelids, scales on them, loss of eyelashes, a feeling of itching of the eyelids. The cause of this disease is inflammation of the glands located in the edge of the eyelids, which occurs with general diseases, carious teeth, hypoavitaminosis, poor sanitary conditions. Children with blepharitis should be checked for worms. One of the most common causes of blepharitis is Demodex mites.

Uncorrected refractive errors can also be the source of this long-term, difficult-to-treat disease.

Blepharitis in both eyes

Barley- limited inflammation of one or two sebaceous glands of the eyelids. Point painful redness, swelling, then an abscess appear on the edge of the eyelids. Barley it can increase in volume and open on its own, it can dissolve on its own or turn into a rounded chronic low-inflammatory formation in the cartilage - hailstone.

With an increase in inflammatory phenomena in barley, the parotid and submandibular The lymph nodes body temperature rises, worsens general state child.

Treatment consists in warming up the barley area with dry heat (heating pad, UHF), instillation of a 20% or 30% solution of sodium sulfacyl (albucid) into the palpebral fissure.

You can not squeeze barley or apply a compress and bandages on it!

The doctor may also prescribe a general anti-inflammatory treatment.

Styes on the upper eyelid of the right eye

At increase in barley inflammation can go to the entire eyelid, it swells sharply, turns red. This eyelid abscess- a serious illness requiring medical attention.

Eye redness most often caused by inflammation of the mucous membrane covering the front of the eyeball and the back of the eyelids, - conjunctivitis. Along with redness, photophobia, lacrimation, mucopurulent discharge, a feeling of sand in the eyes are noted.

Conjunctivitis of both eyes (eyelids of the right eye turned out)

Conjunctivitis is usually treated as follows.

The eyes are freed from purulent discharge by washing the eyelids with a solution of "..."a or potassium permanganate (1:5000).

You can use strong tea leaves instead of these pharmaceuticals.

Drops with a solution of sulfonamides or antibiotics are instilled into the palpebral fissures every two hours.

Hands should be washed frequently with soap. Infection through common household items, towels, bedding from the mucous membrane of sore eyes can be transmitted to healthy ones, so the patient should have a separate towel.

At conjunctivitis do not blindfold with a bandage, as this creates conditions for the rapid reproduction of microbes.

Usually conjunctivitis is cured within a week, however, a number of forms of this disease have their own characteristics of the course and duration.

At newborn picture of inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eye may occur at the age of 2-3 days due to infection with gonococci from birth canal mother. This disease is called gonoblenorrhea.

For gonorrheal conjunctivitis, in addition to redness of the mucous membrane of the eyelids and eyeballs, dense swelling of the eyelids and profuse bloody-purulent discharge are characteristic. Such swelling of the mucosa of the newborn is extremely dangerous, as it leads to malnutrition of the cornea, its ulceration and perforation.

As a result gonococci all membranes and environments of the eye can become infected. The result of gonorrheal inflammation of the eye can be blindness. In order to prevent such eye infections in an infant, immediately after birth, a 20% solution of sodium sulfacyl (albucid) is instilled into both palpebral fissures. With timely and proper treatment, the disease quickly passes.

However, in the event of conjunctivitis with difficult-to-remove films, diphtheria conjunctivitis should be considered. The patient should be hospitalized to be actively treated for this extremely life-threatening disease.

Chronic conjunctivitis occurs due to constant eye irritation from dust, allergies to the use of cosmetics, improper spectacle correction, dental diseases or gastrointestinal tract. In infants, purulent conjunctivitis can last a very long time if its mucous membrane is constantly infected with microbes from clogged tear ducts. This disease is called dacryocystitis.

Dacryocystitis on the left

Usually at birth the barrier in these ways resolves. If this does not happen, the tear does not find a way out and conditions are created for the development of infection.

The main symptom of dacryocystitis- the appearance of tears or pus from the lacrimal puncta with pressure on the area of ​​the lacrimal sac. To disinfect the mucosa, antimicrobial agents are instilled into the palpebral fissure. In the absence of a result from the daily repeated massage of the lacrimal ducts prescribed by the doctor, designed to push out the plug, they resort to surgical procedures.

Redness of the eye can be a manifestation of inflammation of the sclera - scleritis. In such cases, the redness is not very bright, painful, limited to a small area of ​​the sclera. Common Causes scleritis - allergies, acute or chronic infections.

Scleritis on the right eye

Inflammation of the cornea keratitis- enough frequent illness. Unlike conjunctivitis, redness in keratitis is most pronounced near the cornea. But a clear symptom of this disease - violation of the transparency of the cornea. Keratitis occurs more often as a consequence of conjunctivitis, caused by various microorganisms, allergens, injuries. The cause of keratitis can be many common diseases. Any keratitis should be treated by a doctor.

Keratitis of the right eye

Redness of the eyeball characteristic of diseases of the choroid of the eye. These diseases are called iritis, iridocyclitis, uveitis. Inflammatory diseases choroid are very dangerous, with them there is a significant decrease in visual functions.

Iritis of the right eye

White pupil color

Parents need to pay attention to child's pupils. Normally, the pupillary area is black in color, since through transparent optics, the deep sections of the eye appear black. But if there is something opaque in deep optical media, the color of the pupil appears light.

Cause of white pupil most often is cataract- clouding of the lens. It is clear that the child will be very difficult to see through a cloudy lens.

Causes of the disease. Cataract in children often occurs even in the prenatal period due to hereditary causes or illness of the mother during pregnancy.

There is a high risk of cataracts in an unborn baby, if his mother had rubella during pregnancy.

The cause of clouding of the lens may be a metabolic disorder of the child. In this case, an infant born without eye pathology gradually becomes blind, and its pupils become grey colour. Therefore, it is desirable to show baby ophthalmologist.

Complete cataract of the right eye

Partial cataract of the right eye

The appearance of a light color of the pupil is especially dangerous. deep behind the iris. Parents may notice a white, gray or yellow glow of the pupil area at a certain turn of the child's eyes. In most cases, such a child also has poor vision.

This is a very formidable sign, it is necessary to immediately show the baby to an ophthalmologist, since this symptom in young children can be caused by a tumor of the retina - retinoblastoma. Such a malignant tumor is dangerous not only for the eye, but also for the life of the child. Retinoblastoma can be inherited.

Babies who were born prematurely with very low body weight (usually less than 2000 g) and received long-term inhaled oxygen during nursing may also experience white pupils.

Such a pathology retinopathy of prematurity, unlike retigyublastoma, is not life-threatening, but very dangerous for vision. If the disease is detected early (and it usually appears a month after birth), doctors make an attempt to treat it. Therefore, it is necessary to show a deeply premature baby often, at least once a month, to an eye doctor in order to detect the first signs of the disease as early as possible and begin treatment.

There are a number of diseases that, after a long course, sometimes manifest as a white pupil. This is retinal detachment and opacities vitreous body caused by various reasons.

Diseases found in the fundus

Changes in depth of the eye very often nothing but a decrease in visual functions (acuity, visual field, color perception and light perception) do not manifest themselves and are not noticeable during external examination. But the cause of these disorders can often be determined only by a doctor at the fundus.

Therefore, an ophthalmologist always examines the bottom of the eyes of his patients (ophthalmoscopy). With ophthalmoscopy, a circle of the fundus area is visible. Its red color is due to the translucence of the red choroid through the colorless retina. Against this background is the disk - the end part of the optic nerve.

The tone is suitable for the disk like threads, retinal vessels. In the very center of the bottom there is a small depression - the central fossa. Her diseases lead to a significant drop in visual acuity.

Violations of the red color of the periphery of the bottom occur as a result of diseases of the deep parts of the eye or the whole body. The bottom of the eye is the place where the doctor directly sees the nerve and blood vessels of his patient. Therefore, doctors of many specialties, when making a diagnosis for a child, are interested in the result of examining the fundus.

Eye injury

Injuries to the eyes of children are extremely dangerous. Eye injuries are easier to prevent than to cure. As a rule, eye injuries in children arise from the lack of proper attention from adults.

A strong blow with a blunt object to the eye area often leads to swelling and hemorrhage under the skin of the eyelids. Even when not visible violation intact KOZR membranes, a child who has received such a concussion should be shown to the doctor. It may turn out that the bones of the orbit, the membranes and the contents of the eyeball are seriously damaged.

It is all the more dangerous when, upon receipt mechanical injury the integrity of the skin of the eyelids, mucous membranes, sclera and cornea is violated - wound.

Prevention of eye injuries

So that the baby does not injure the eyes with his own nails, they must be cut off in a timely manner.

When giving a toy to a child, you need to think about whether he can injure his eye with it. Items made of breakable materials that have sharp edges and corners often cause severe eye damage especially when placed in the hands of children. The toys sold usually say what age they are for. Toys such as ball-shooting pistols, slingshots, bows, and the like can cause great misfortune.

Needles, pins, nails, scissors, knives, forks and other piercing and cutting objects should be kept out of the reach of small children.

It is necessary to accustom the child to the fact that carpentry and turning work require certain general and personal means that protect the eyes from mechanical injury - screens, glasses.

mechanical injury it happens as a result of a foreign body entering the palpebral fissure: dust particles, pieces of coal, metal, fragments of an emery wheel.

Even a foreign body superficially lying in the palpebral fissure causes photophobia, lacrimation, constriction of the eyelids, and sharp pain. It can be under the eyelid or on the cornea. It is not recommended to remove it yourself, as you can call serious complications. If this happens, you should put a bandage on the eye and take the child to the hospital as soon as possible. lying position to the doctor.

Eye burns

Extremely dangerous eye burns.

Children get thermal burns, without parental supervision, using firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices, setting fire to flammable and explosive substances.

In case of any thermal burn, the victim should be taken to the doctor as soon as possible.

Getting into the eye chemical substances causes chemical burns. They also lead to very serious consequences.

Burns with alkali and acid cause damage to the tissues of the eye. When chemical burn you should immediately start flushing the eye with plenty of water for at least 5-10 minutes. On acid burn early neutralization with a soda solution works well, and for alkaline burns, it is advisable to start washing with citric or boric acid.

It happens that children get burned aniline dyes- aniline pencil lead, ink. In such cases, it is necessary to wash the eyes with tannins, such as strong tea.

Children love to watch the flash of electric welding. In this case, a radiation burn can occur, manifested by severe pain in the eyes, photophobia, and lacrimation. In this case, cold soaks help, and the symptoms usually disappear quickly on their own.

We must firmly grasp that with any burn of the child's eyes you need to see a doctor as soon as possible!

Even if you have no complaints about condition of the child's eyes However, it should be periodically shown to an ophthalmologist.

Eye diseases in children are unpleasant, dangerous, they can affect the development of the child, his self-esteem, develop complexes, reduce academic performance, limit the choice of sports, and even professional activity. Therefore, it is so important to detect eye diseases in children as early as possible and start proper treatment.

To help parents, in this article, we will tell you what eye diseases are in children, we will give them a list, alphabetically, names, brief description, signs, as well as the age of children at which this or that disease may appear.

In this section, we will describe all childhood eye pathologies that affect visual acuity, including myopia, hyperopia, strabismus, and others.

Amblyopia

Uneven use of one eye compared to the other (lazy eye), which results in deterioration of its visual functions. The disease is treated by turning off the frequently used eye for a while, and including it in the patient's visual activity (occlusion).

Myopia

This disease is also called myopia - a frequently observed disease in childhood. Appears at about five to eight years of age. The child begins to blur objects that are far from the eyes. As a rule, it is formed during the active growth of the eye and due to increased load on him. Myopia is treated by wearing glasses.

retinopathy

disease in premature babies. Due to the stoppage of the normal growth of retinal vessels, they develop fibrosis, scarring of the retina, which greatly affects visual functions, with the risk total loss vision.

Premature babies who have had retinopathy may have various complications(myopia, astigmatism, retinal detachment). Treatment is operative.

Spasm of accommodation

Also called false myopia. With this pathology, the ability of the accommodative (ciliary) muscle to relax is impaired, which leads to a decrease in distance visual acuity. Seen in children school age. It is quickly eliminated with the help of gymnastic eye exercises and drug ophthalmic therapy.

Strabismus (strabismus)

A pathology in which one or both eyes are not positioned correctly, because of this they cannot concentrate on one point at the same time. As a result, binocular vision is impaired. In newborns, there is an uncoordinated look, in three to four months the eyes should align, if this does not happen, you need to see a doctor. Older children complain of blurred vision, photosensitivity, double vision, and rapid eye fatigue. Treatment should be started at the first symptoms. It is done with glasses. If the disease is caused by damage to the nerve that controls oculomotor muscle, its electrical stimulation is prescribed, training, in case of inefficiency, in three to five years, an operation is performed on the muscle.

Infectious eye diseases

In this section of the article, we will analyze all the most common ophthalmic diseases associated with infections, including conjunctivitis, keratitis, dacryocystitis and many others.

Blepharitis

Infectious disease that can be caused various kinds microorganisms, as well as which may appear against the background of other chronic diseases (tonsillitis, laryngitis, anemia, digestive system and others). The main signs of blepharitis are similar to many other inflammatory processes (redness of the eyelids, itching, burning, photosensitivity, increased tearing). But there are also specific symptoms depending on the type of blepharitis.

Treatment should be carried out immediately to avoid complications, with antibacterial drugs.

Dacryocystitis

This inflammatory process, in the so-called lacrimal fossa, occurring due to the accumulation in it pathogenic bacteria, due to the violation of the outflow of lacrimal fluid. Dacryocystitis of the eye occurs in newborns and children different ages. Symptoms include swelling, redness and painful sensations in the inner corner of the eye, appear purulent discharge. It is necessary to consult a specialist for the correct treatment of the disease.

Treat infectious diseases eyes in children with different forms, it is necessary to use medical, surgical, laser, extracorporeal methods, as prescribed by a doctor.

Barley

It is characterized by the formation of a purulent abscess on the eyelid. Accompanied by itching, burning, pain, sometimes elevated temperature. The appearance of this trouble is usually caused by bacteria such as staphylococci. This disease occurs in children at any age. At the first symptoms of swelling of the eyelids, it is necessary to apply to the affected area warm compress and see a doctor. Treatment is with antibiotic eye drops.

Congenital eye diseases

There are also congenital eye diseases, which include such common ones as cataracts, glaucoma, as well as lesser known ones, for example, ectropion. We will talk about them below.

Glaucoma

It has a congenital character in children, it is expressed in an increase in intraocular pressure, due to disturbances in the development of the outflow tracts of the eye fluid. Congenital is called hydrophthalmos. High pressure leads to stretching of the eyeball, atrophy of the optic nerve, clouding of the cornea, resulting in loss of vision. The treatment is aimed at normalizing the pressure inside the eye, with the help of special eye drops. If medical treatment fails, surgery is needed.

Eyelid dermoid

Occurs during the formation of the fetus, due to improper fusion of various tissues. A dense round formation appears, which has a single or multiple state, is located on the limbus, conjunctiva, cornea. It almost always has a benign character. This disease requires treatment, as it can be a focus of infections and inflammation, as a result, suppuration and degeneration into malignant tumor. It is treated only surgically, by the method of complete removal.

Cataract

In children, it is a congenital grayish turbidity of the lens, which prevents the eye from penetrating light and proper development visual apparatus. There are no drugs that restore transparency to the lens, so doctors recommend performing an operation to remove the cloudiness when the child reaches six months of age. In case of damage to both eyes, the second one is operated on after four months. The removed lens is replaced with artificial lenses. But not every age is suitable for this or that method.

Retinoblastoma

The formation inside the eye, which is of a malignant nature. More than fifty to sixty percent of cases of this disease are inherited. It is found in children of two or three years. If a child is born in a family with cases of illness, he must be under constant control ophthalmologist. Treatment depends on the stage of the disease, is complex, consists in the use of various modern methods (radiation, drug chemotherapy, laser coagulation, cryotherapy, thermotherapy) can save the child not only eyes, but also visual functions.

Ectropion

Eversion of the eyelids, in which the lower eyelid lags behind the eyeball and is everted outward. In children, it has a congenital character, due to a lack of skin integuments of the lower eyelid or an excess of skin on the edges of the eyelids. The complication is manifested in the form of lagophthalmos, profuse lacrimation. The main method of treatment is surgery.

entropian

Congenital disease, expressed in the inversion of the eyelid, due to excess skin or muscle fibers in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe eyelashes, with spasm of the circular muscle. With such a disease, a resection operation is indicated.

Diseases often occur in childhood, because the immune system is not fully formed and cannot fully protect the body from pathologies. When anxiety symptoms you need to contact a medical professional immediately. It is important to diagnose any eye disease in children in a timely manner. If you do not start the right treatment, you may experience Negative consequences up to blindness.

Eye diseases in children

As already mentioned, in childhood often appear various pathologies and some of them are congenital. Regardless of the cause of the appearance, it is important to consult an ophthalmologist in order to improve the well-being of a minor. You can name the most common diseases in schoolchildren that require medical intervention.

1. Myopia. This is a visual impairment in which a person can only see objects that are nearby. Often, the deviation develops between the ages of 8 and 14, which is associated with excessive load to the eyes, as well as active growth. The patient will have to wear glasses equipped with diverging lenses.
2. Hypermetropia. A minor can only see objects that are far away. Close objects appear blurry. Mostly the deviation appears before the age of 10 years. Symptoms include headaches and eye fatigue. To improve the condition, a person has to wear glasses with plus lenses.
3. Strabismus. In children, one or both eyes deviate from the normal fixation current. That is, they will not look in the same direction. The disease appears due to a unilateral decrease visual function, nerve damage and refractive error. Often prescribed for strabismus surgical intervention, which is often carried out between the ages of 3 and 5 years.
4. Astigmatism. The patient suffers from distortion of objects that are located at any distance. The disease is corrected with the help of glasses with cylindrical glasses.
5. Amblyopia. There is a decrease in vision in the eye that is not used due to deviation to the side. Gaps may appear if initially one side sees worse. Treatment requires training the affected organ to improve its function.

Children have other eye diseases, and some of them can be quickly eliminated. For example, it is easy to overcome conjunctivitis, which appears due to viruses, bacteria and allergens. In this case, the eye will turn red, itching will appear, as well as a burning sensation. The disease appears at any age, while therapy is prescribed depending on the cause of the disease.

Another common problem is barley. With it, a purulent abscess is observed in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe century. The affected area itches, hurts and burns. The temperature may rise slightly. Pathology is provoked by bacteria, as well as staphylococci. At the first symptoms to problem area a compress is applied, after which you need to see a doctor. Antibacterial drops and ointments are often prescribed for therapy.

Eye diseases in newborns

In newborns, doctors can detect a disease that requires immediate treatment. Often, a congenital cataract is diagnosed, in which the pupil has a grayish tint, and the field of vision is reduced. A cloudy lens prevents the light from fully penetrating into the eye. To eliminate the problem, an operation is prescribed, after which the child is assigned contact lenses or glasses that replace the removed lens.

There is also congenital glaucoma, which increases intraocular pressure. Because of this, the outflow of aqueous humor is disturbed. Because of high blood pressure eye shell stretches, the organ increases in size, the cornea becomes cloudy. The optic nerve gradually atrophies and eventually blindness appears. The patient is shown the use of drops, and in some cases surgical intervention.

Retinopathy is another common condition that occurs in premature babies. The normal growth of the retinal vessels stops, while pathological processes develop, and a fibrous tissue. The organ itself undergoes scarring and gradually exfoliates, because of which a person begins to see poorly. The problem can be eliminated with the help of surgical or laser intervention.

Nystagmus is an involuntary movement of the eyes, which in most cases occurs in a horizontal direction. The patient cannot fix his gaze, which is why there is no clarity of vision. You can get rid of the problem by correcting this violation.

With ptosis in children, drooping of the upper eyelid is observed, which is provoked by the underdevelopment of the muscle, which should lift given area. A similar condition also occurs due to damage to the nerve that controls the muscle. Due to the omission, the light cannot fully penetrate the inside of the eye, and therefore the person must undergo treatment, thanks to which it will be possible to give the eyelid the correct position. Surgery is indicated at the age of 3 to 7 years. In addition, a special adhesive plaster is used for therapy, which fixes the organ in the correct position.

Eye diseases in a child: symptoms, causes, treatment, signs

When different eye diseases appear in children, it is important to immediately pay attention to their symptoms. To do this, parents need to know warning signs, the appearance of which will definitely need to undergo treatment. For example, there is a dry eye syndrome, in which the cornea and conjunctiva are not sufficiently moistened. Another 50 years ago this syndrome was a problem only in adults, but is now observed in preschoolers.

Their characteristic manifestations you can note:

1. Feeling of burning and cutting.
2. Increased photophobia, which makes it unpleasant for the child to be in rooms with bright light and on the street.
3. Constant feeling of tired eyes.
4. Blurred vision.
5. The appearance of a capillary network in the protein area.

The therapy is carried out using special moisturizing drops, as well as gels. In this case, it is necessary to understand the reasons for this phenomenon. Perhaps the air in the room is too dry, the eyes are in constant tension, there is an allergy or an infection. The doctor may advise you to change lenses for glasses, humidify the air, and also begin to fight the underlying disease. For allergies, antihistamines are recommended, and it is also important not to come into contact with the allergen.

Uveitis is an inflammatory process that affects the iris and choroid. It occurs when bacteria appear. It often serves as a sign of rheumatism, infection, tuberculosis, arthritis and other severe pathologies.

Symptoms:

1. Increased lacrimation.
2. Intolerance to bright light.
3. Blurred vision.
4. Puffiness of the century.
5. sharp and strong pain, which occurs only when acute form.
6. Redness of the body.

At an early stage, the doctor prescribes anti-inflammatory drugs, for example, special drops. In advanced cases, injections are needed, which are performed in the lower eyelid area. As a last resort, an operation is performed.

There are other equally common pathologies:

1. Halazion. Inflammation of the cartilage occurs due to blockage sebaceous gland. The visual organ swells, turns red, and a neoplasm in the form of a pea appears on the skin. Mostly the disease appears at the age of 5 to 10 years. For treatment, drops, massage and warming are used.
2. Daltonism. There is a lack of color cones in the eye area. May not be recognized different colors because it all depends on what exactly is missing. It is diagnosed in boys, while the feature is most often congenital.
3. Blepharitis. It is observed in preschoolers, and with it, an inflammatory process of the eyelid is observed from the edge. This is explained by thin skin and lack of fat. Pathology is often confused with chalazion and barley, since the symptoms are similar. The child will complain of pain, itching and swelling in the affected area. The pathological process is provoked by viruses, mites and bacteria. Treatment regimen determined depending on what exactly led to the development of the disease.

Parents themselves cannot make a diagnosis, as this is done exclusively medical specialist. The child will have to undergo a series of examinations, as well as, if necessary, pass tests. Based on the results of the procedures carried out, it is possible to draw a conclusion about how the minor feels. Once installed accurate diagnosis you can move on to therapy.

Drawing conclusions

Some parents do not listen to the complaints of the child, which is why the disease progresses. Even if the signs of the disease cannot be noticed during a visual examination, in any case, you should consult a doctor. Perhaps the disease is latent, and it can only be detected during a professional examination.

Any ailment is much easier to cure if it is at an early stage of development. Some diseases can be detected even in newborns, as they do not depend on age. It is important to remember that self-medication is dangerous to health, because when wrong choice drugs and curative measures health may deteriorate. Only a doctor should monitor the child and prescribe specific medications for the treatment and prevention of the disease.

From 40 to 90% of information about the world around us enters the brain through the eyes. Children with visual impairments require a special approach to develop brain function.

According to WHO, one child in the world goes blind every minute. At the same time, in 75% of cases this could have been prevented, since the child's visual apparatus develops before the age of 14. With early diagnosis, many eye diseases in children can be cured.

Diseases faced by pediatric ophthalmologists are most often acquired, not congenital.

Common pathologies in childhood, their photos

dry eye syndrome

Dry eye syndrome is a lack of moisture in the cornea and conjunctiva.. 50 years ago, the syndrome was considered a problem for adults, and now children also complain.

Appears due to dry air, constant eye strain, allergies, infections, anomalies in the structure of the eye.

Symptoms worse towards evening or after long exposure to wind or cold:

• cutting and burning;
• photophobia;
• feeling of tired eyes;
• the child often rubs his eyes;
• complaints of blurry vision;
• a network of red capillaries is visible on the protein.

Treatment - good moisturizing with drops and gels and the obligatory elimination of the causes: getting rid of the infection, changing lenses for glasses, humidified warm air. If dryness is due to allergies, antihistamines may help.

Uveitis

Inflammation of the iris and choroid of the eye is called uveitis. It is caused by bacteria. Uveitis in children is a symptom of rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, glomerulonephritis, viral infection,. Since the choroid of the eye nourishes the retina and is responsible for its accommodation, disturbances can cause partial or complete blindness.

Rheumatic uveitis is diagnosed in children older than 3 years. It is more common in girls than in boys. The chronic form is exacerbated in spring and autumn.

The symptoms of uveitis are not noticeable at first, especially in babies who cannot talk about their feelings:

• tearing;
• fear of bright light;
• redness of the eye;
• blurred vision;
• eyelid swells;
• in acute form - a sharp pain.

The main symptoms of uevitis in children are shown in the photo below:

Uveitis is treated at the initial stage with anti-inflammatory drugs in the form of drops. IN severe cases they make injections in the lower eyelid, sometimes surgery is required.

Macular degeneration

Macular degeneration - dystrophic change retina due to malnutrition. It is rare in children and may develop hereditary reasons. Macular degeneration can be dry or wet.

With dry eyes, drusen are formed - yellow dark spots; then they merge and begin to darken.

Blackening means the death of light-sensitive cells and the development of blindness. At an early stage, it can be cured without consequences for vision.

Wet form is more dangerous. With it, new vessels appear that burst and bleed into the eye, photosensitive cells die and are not restored.

With macular degeneration, the baby complains of:

• cloudy spot without pronounced contours;
• disorientation in the dark;
• straight lines appear curved.

Treatment of the dry form is carried out with antioxidants, preparations containing zinc, vitamins A and E. The wet form is treated with a laser, intraocular injections, and photodynamic therapy.

episcleritis

Episcleritis - inflammation of the tissue between the sclera and conjunctiva of the eye. It is rare in children. Most main symptom- Severe redness of the white of the eye. The remaining signs are common to any inflammation of the eye: swelling, photophobia, tearing, headache. A rash may appear on the face.

Episcleritis resolves on its own without treatment in 5-60 days, but can go to chronic form. Then the disease will return. Treatment is usually symptomatic: artificial tear, chamomile wash, eye rest.

Anisocoria

Anisocoria is not considered a disease, it is a symptom, in which the difference in pupil diameter in children is greater than 1 mm (as in the photo below). This is due to the fact that one of the pupils reacts incorrectly to stimuli: light, illness, medicines.

Anisocoria in a child, including a baby, may indicate:

For diagnosis, diseases are excluded from the list one by one. When the cause is eliminated, the diameter of the pupils will return to normal.

Names of common ophthalmic diseases

At birth, the eyes are the least developed body therefore, various malfunctions and dysfunctions can occur throughout the development of the visual apparatus, up to 14 years.

In addition to these diseases, ophthalmologists face other problems in children:

• , or "lazy eye" A symptom in which one eye sees worse than the other. IN baby brain a different picture arrives, which is incorrectly processed.

  When the underlying disease is corrected, one eye still "out of habit" sees worse. Amblyopia is treated without consequences up to 3-4 years, while the visual areas in the brain are formed. In older children, vision will no longer be 100% the same in both eyes.

• clouding of the lens, due to which the light sensitivity of the eye is lost. This disease occurs in about 3 out of 10,000 children. If it is congenital, then it is diagnosed in the maternity hospital, if it develops later - at the ophthalmologist's appointment. If the cataract is not treated, then complete blindness is possible. Surgery can completely restore vision.
• - infectious disease. It can be viral, bacterial or allergic in nature. It is distinguished by the appearance of purulent contents that stick together the eyelashes, redness of the eyes, a feeling of pain and "sand". Treated with antiviral or antibacterial drops depending on what caused the disease.
• – bacterial inflammation hair follicle or sebaceous gland on the eyelid, not contagious, appears with a decrease in immunity. Most often affects children from 7 to 17 years. In adolescents during puberty, the secretion of the sebaceous gland becomes more viscous, it clogs the exit and causes inflammation. The disease lasts about a week and ends with the opening of the abscess.
• - inflammation of the cartilage due to blockage of the sebaceous gland on the upper (more often) or lower eyelid. It is manifested by swelling and redness, then an inflamed pea appears. Most often occurs in children 5-10 years old. It is treated with massage, warming, drops. If necessary, the operation is performed under local anesthesia.
• Glaucoma can be congenital and secondary, includes more than 60 diseases with a violation of the outflow of intraocular fluid. Because of this, intraocular pressure rises, which leads to atrophy of the optic nerve and blindness. In children, it is most often congenital, after 3 years it is diagnosed very rarely. More than 50% of children diagnosed with congenital glaucoma go blind by the age of 2 without surgery.



• (myopia) is the most common eye disease in children. With this disease, the baby does not see objects located far away.

  It occurs mainly in children from 9 years of age, progresses in adolescence due to rapid growth and hormonal changes.

  May be due to heredity, birth defects, constant eye strain, poor nutrition. Corrected with glasses or lenses.

• - Blurry vision of near objects. All children under 7-9 years old are farsighted from birth, but this figure decreases as the eye apparatus develops. If the eyeball develops incorrectly, then farsightedness does not decrease with age. Corrected by wearing glasses or lenses.
• - Irregular shape of the cornea, eye or lens. Because of this, objects are seen distorted. It is treated by wearing special glasses, with the help of orthokeratology, from the age of 18 it is possible to perform a laser operation.
• - violation of patency lacrimal ducts. Because of this, the fluid in the channel accumulates, begins purulent inflammation. It can be congenital and acquired, acute and chronic. In the acute form, a hole is formed in the corner of the eye for 2-3 days, through which the liquid breaks out.
• nystagmus- inability to fix the eyeball in one position. Fluctuation can be horizontal and vertical, speaks of diseases of the nervous system.

  It does not appear immediately, but closer to 2-3 months. In most children, nystagmus goes away on its own. In severe cases, surgery is indicated.

• - weakness eye muscles in which the eyes look in different directions. In the first months, this is considered the norm, especially in premature babies, and then corrected by the operation.
• Retinopathy of the newborn- violation of the development of the retina. Occurs in 20% of children born before 34 weeks weighing less than 2 kg due to the fact that the eyeball has not yet fully formed. About 30% of children survive this disease without consequences for their vision in the future.

  The rest develop complications: myopia, astigmatism, glaucoma, cataracts, retinal detachment.

• Ptosis-weakness of the muscle that lifts upper eyelid. If this is a congenital anomaly, then most often it is combined with other diseases. The eye may close completely or only slightly. This feature is corrected surgically at the age of 3-4 years.

Small children can also have problems with their eyes. Therefore, articles on such topics will be useful to you:

Even more useful information O eye diseases learn from the following video clip:

Most eye diseases in children with early diagnosis can be successfully treated. Even developing blindness can be stopped and corrected if timely attention is paid to signs of visual impairment in a child.

In contact with

Man is endowed with five basic senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.

Vision is one of the most important functions of the body. Seeing well, many people do not think about how pleasant and important it is to admire the world around them. The organs of vision are given to us in order to cognize the world of color, volumetric, stereoscopic. If the visual system fails, then the person does not receive additional information from the outside world or receives it in a distorted form. Such changes in the body of children are especially dangerous. Eye ailments do not allow the child to fully develop.

Vision problems often result in fatigue child, excessive excitability, frequent irritability, anxiety and other negative symptoms.

Prevent deterioration of children's vision, take timely necessary measures for elimination visual ailments is the task of the parents.

Myopia (nearsightedness)

Myopia in children is one of the most common eye diseases. With myopia, a person sees well near objects and poorly, located at a distance. Signs of myopia are obvious: the child squints when necessary to see something at a far distance, when watching TV, he tries to sit closer, when reading, he brings the book close to his eyes. Due to constant tension, headaches can begin, fast fatiguability.

Most often, myopia is diagnosed at the age of 9-12 years. During adolescence, it may intensify.

If myopia is detected, the ophthalmologist prescribes vision correction - glasses or lenses. May be assigned drug treatment- eye drops, strengthening vitamins. It is advisable to do exercises for the eyes. High myopia may require surgery.

Hypermetropia (farsightedness)

With this disease, the child has difficulty seeing nearby objects. However, objects at a distance are also not very clear. It all depends on the degree of hypermetropia. Child experiencing similar discomfort, tries to unconsciously move away from the subject or move it away in order to better see.

Symptoms of farsightedness can also be headaches, fatigue, nausea, which are the result of regular tension of the visual system.

Treatment is similar to myopia - corrective lenses or glasses, eye exercises, surgery.

Astigmatism

With astigmatism, the shape of the cornea is distorted - it resembles the surface of a melon (in a normal state, it has the shape of a sphere). The light rays that form the image of the object, when passing through the wrong cornea, are refracted in different ways. The result is a blurry, not clear image.

Astigmatism is often accompanied by nearsightedness or farsightedness. The disease is corrected with the help of special spectacle or contact lenses or surgically.

Strabismus

A disease called strabismus, in medicine is called strabismus or heterotropia. Normal condition visual axes - parallel. In this case, both eyes look at the same point. With strabismus, a shift in the axis of one or both eyes is possible. Treatment of the disease: hardware, implementation special exercises or surgery. In case of refusal timely treatment the child may experience serious violations vision.

Conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eye, which can be caused by allergies, bacterial or viral infection. Often this disease is accompanied by blepharitis and keratitis. Signs:

• swelling of the eyelids;
• Clear or purulent discharge;
• Itching, burning;
• Expansion of the vessels of the eyes.

Depending on the etiology of the disease, antiviral or antibacterial agents: gels, ointments, drops. If the disease is caused by allergies, then antihistamines are also included in the treatment.

Obstruction of the lacrimal ducts

In the visual system there is a special organ - the lacrimal sac, the function of which is the accumulation of tears. It is located between the nose and the inner corner eyelids. Tears are a natural antiseptic and defense mechanism for eyes. Excess fluid in normal functioning flow through the nasolacrimal duct into the nasal cavity, and then go outside. If the lumen of the nasolacrimal duct is broken, then the outflow does not occur, which provokes inflammation due to pathogenic bacteria. Treatment is prescribed depending on the causes of blockage of the ducts and the form of the disease - acute or chronic.

Corneal injury

This is a fairly common disease in children that occurs due to contact with the eyes. foreign bodies- grains of sand, sawdust, dust, etc. Children rub their eyes, complain of pain, blurred vision. When an infection is attached (which happens often), clear or purulent discharge appears. Treatment is based on the degree of damage. It includes washing with special solutions, instillation of the eyes, laying antibacterial gels or ointments under the eyelids.

Inflammation of the iris

This disease in medicine is called "iritis". It occurs as a result of injuries of the eyeball, infectious diseases, infection of the organs of vision.

Signs:


• Redness of the sclera;
• Hemorrhage in the iris;
• Blurry pattern of the iris.

Treatment methods are prescribed depending on the cause of the disease. The process should take place under the supervision of an ophthalmologist.

retinopathy

It is a disease of premature babies. Signs: underdevelopment of the retina, violation of its blood supply. As a result, pathological vessels on the fundus. Possible hemorrhage, film formation, which can lead to retinal detachment, loss of vision.

Spasm of accommodation

This eye disease is also called "false myopia". It is a result of spasm of the ciliary muscle. The reason for this may be psychological stress in the child. Treatment should take place with two specialists - an ophthalmologist and a psychotherapist.

A more common disease is PINA (habitually excessive tension of accommodation). The eyes of children, for the most part, in modern realities work at close distances - Cell phones, tablets, laptops. To provide binocular vision(the ability to see with both eyes at the same time), the rectus muscles of the eyes feel a fair amount of tension. When looking into the distance, tension is transmitted to the ciliary muscle. She does not relax, even in the absence of stress. In this case, a PIN occurs. It can lead to the development of myopia.

Treatment - individual optical correction, drops, visual gymnastics, vision hygiene.