Cases
1. Sporty Child
Kitty is currently 8 years old. Her myopia was 150 units six months ago. She came again recently and myopia reached 300 units. There is no strabismus, amblyopia or and other abnormalities.
Her parents were looking for myopic control due to her fast myopic progression. Our optometrist explained and analysed the methods available for Kitty.
Kitty had big healthy eyes with sufficient tears and clean eyelashes. They wanted to wear contact lenses because Kitty loved dancing. She would like to see clearly without glasses while dancing . After detailed eye exam, optometrist fitted ortho-k lenses for Kitty. Kitty’s mother was not sure if Kitty can handle lenses herself. She planned to help. Out of expectation, Kitty spent about 1 hour to learn how to insert, remove and clean the lens.
After wearing a pair of new lenses, myopia was all gone. Kitty did not need to wear any glasses in daytime.
2. Amblyopia Child
Albert was 5 years old when he had the first eye examination.
Parents reported that Albert did not like reading neither playing mobile games. Albert reported tired and uncomfortable while doing homework and drawing.
After checkup, Albert was farsightedness (200 units each eye). The vision and stereopsis were below standard. Although there is no strabismus, the eye-hand co-ordination failed. Others were unremarkable.
Optometrists explained the condition to his parents. Although the power was not significant, it was a good idea to prescribe eye glasses to enhance his vision. A followup was arranged 1 month later and visual training was arranged afterward.
After several lessons of vision training, his eyesight and binocular coordination were improved.
Albert now had little difficulties in doing near work. However, optometrist suggested some home training and follow-up at every 3 months.
Any amblyopia, strabismus and other problems can be detected before age 6. Appropriate treatment helps significantly.
Amblyopia is avoidable?
The difference between the two eyes can cause amblyopia. Because children will unconsciously see things with lower-degree eyes. Long-term use of one eye can also lead to amblyopia. Eyeglasses are generally used to correct amblyopia. The main causes of amblyopia are pathological causes, strabismus and refractive abnormalities.
1. Pathological reasons: congenital cataract, congenital ptosis, retinal detachment, etc., surgery or regular observation will be decided according to the situation.
2. Strabismus: strabismus is divided into inner and outer strabismus and upper and lower strabismus. The more obvious congenital esotropia (commonly known as cross-eyed) can be found at birth and can be corrected by surgery; as for acquired esotropia and exotropia, It usually appears around the age of two or three and can be corrected with glasses.
3. Refractive abnormalities: vision problems such as farsightedness, nearsightedness, astigmatism, etc., are refractive errors and may be discovered later. Therefore, it is recommended that parents check their children's eyes when they are 3 years old to see if there is any serious vision problem.
3. Monocular myopia
Zhang is now 10 years old and has his eyes checked for the second time. His brother has long been short-sighted and already wears OK glasses.
A year and a half ago, Zhang's eye examination showed that his right eye had no degree, and his left eye was about 100 degrees of myopia. No glasses. The parents said that if the younger brother (Zhang Xiaobao) has more myopia, they would also like to have an OK lens fitted for him. This examination revealed that the right eye was still without power, but the left eye was nearsighted by about 200 degrees and had a little astigmatism. The amount of tears and moisture are good, and there is no eyelashes, no strabismus or amblyopia, and the eye health is very normal.
Zhang needs to correct the degree of his left eye, so that his eyesight can be balanced and developed. He can choose to wear frame glasses, contact lenses, or even OK lenses. Since his right eye has no prescription, he uses his right eye most of the time, so he resists wearing glasses. In addition, the right and left glasses have different degrees, and the image size is different, which makes him feel uncomfortable. Although he thinks it is feasible to wear contact lenses, he prefers to wear OK lenses because it is relatively convenient, and he does not need to wear any glasses in the morning.
Optometrist fitted him with OK lenses for his left eye. After trying on the new lenses, the next morning, the prescription was completely reduced and his eyes were healthy.
In the past six months, the right eye still has no degree, and the left eye only needs to wear OK glasses, and the eyesight and coordination ability of both eyes are good.
4. Soft Contact Lenses for Children
In addition to OK lenses, soft contact lenses may also be used to control myopia.
Mr. Yan took his 7-year-old son, Timothy, for an eye exam because he failed a previous health check. Timothy said that he couldn't read clearly in class, so he kept copying the notes of his classmates next to him. It turned out that he had a pair of 100-degree glasses, but they were too cumbersome and inconvenient to play, so he didn't like to wear them. After examination, about 200 degrees of myopia, 50 degrees of astigmatism. Eye health inside and out.
Timothy really doesn't like wearing glasses, he has big eyes and doesn't think he looks good in glasses. But with his 200-degree myopic vision, if he doesn't correct the degree, it will affect his learning and even deepen it faster.
After discussing with Mr. Yan, our optometrist fitted Timothy with soft contact lenses for him to try. Unlike soft contact lenses that are used by adults in the market, this is designed for children, especially to control myopia.
After trying on the lenses, Timothy was more excited than we were because he could see clearly without glasses. He has a strong drive to learn to use lenses. At that time, he had to use and follow up with the optometrist's instructions.
Over the past year, my eyes have been healthy and my vision has been perfect, only the degree has increased by 25 degrees. Mr. Yan and Timothy were very satisfied with the effect, and Timothy continued to wear it every day.
The awareness of eye protection among children in Hong Kong is low. In fact, 3-year-old children should start to check their eyes, and parents should have the concept of children's eye protection. Because today's children may have to cope with various classes when their eyes are not yet mature, and with the popularity of various mobile games and tablet computers, they may have begun to overuse their eyes since childhood, which may lead to premature vision. Development problems arise.
Children are mostly hyperopia at birth, because infants and young children's eye development is not completed, the eye axis is shorter than that of adults, and they cannot focus clearly. However, after about 6 or 7 years of age, the development of the eyeball is completed, and the farsightedness will decrease. Of course, children may also have vision problems due to genetics, daily eye care, lifestyle and other factors.
From birth to about 8 years old, it is an important time for children to protect their eyes. Parents should arrange for them to have regular eye examinations to ensure the normal development of various functions of children's eyes, and to detect various common eye diseases in children as soon as possible. Before the age of 1, it is possible to check whether there is a congenital disease. Between 1 and 3 years old, it should be arranged to check whether the child's vision, eye movement, binocular coordination and eye focus are developing normally. Comprehensive children's ophthalmological examination, including...congenital eye disease examination, visual refraction examination, visual function evaluation, and eye health examination.
In addition to preventing them from using their eyes for a long time without rest, parents also need to arrange regular comprehensive eye and vision examinations for them to detect early vision problems.
5. Control myopia, two-pronged approach
If the parents are short-sighted, the children are more likely to be short-sighted.
Lin's father and Lin's mother have about 300 degrees of myopia, and their daughter's eyes have been checked every year since she was 3 years old. Sister Lin started suffering from 150 degrees of myopia when she was 6 years old. She has been wearing ordinary frame glasses, and the average annual increase is 100-150 degrees. My parents saw our optometrist two years ago. My sister is 9 years old and has 500 degrees of myopia.
The optometrist found that my sister has many bad visual habits. After correcting the habits, she also analyzed her visual development with her parents. Because the extent of Lin's myopia deepening is really worrying, and the age of schooling, myopia will continue to increase. Although it is within 400 degrees of myopia, the use of OK lenses is the best, because if it is above 400 degrees, there may be some slight degrees left, and glasses may be worn during class. Lin's parents still want to try wearing OK glasses to control myopia.
After wearing OK glasses for a month, Sister Lin's 500-degree myopia was completely reduced, and she did not need to wear additional glasses for class. This effect remained unchanged for two years. In addition, she pays great attention to eye health and maintains good visual habits.
Control myopia, two-pronged approach, the best effect!
One of the myopia control theories is "peripheral defocus".
There are also different myopia control products on the market that use "peripheral defocus", including OK lenses (orthokeratology lenses), special daily disposable contact lenses for myopia control, and special frame glasses.
1. When using orthokeratology lenses (OK lenses), the oxygen permeability of Japanese products is the highest, reaching (163-180), and only a few on the market are approved to fit this ok lens. When the eyeball focuses on the scene, the central image will still be focused on the retina, and the peripheral image will be focused on the front of the retina, forming a "peripheral defocus" to achieve myopia control effect. Due to the large changes in the eyeball of children at their developmental age, orthokeratology has a significant effect on myopia control. Suitable for children over 6 years old who can handle orthopedic lenses and myopia less than 500 degrees.
2. Daily disposable contact lenses for myopia control), produced in the UK, easy to use, no cleaning required. The lenses are combined with different powers to form peripheral defocus. Suitable for children who are active / active in outdoor activities.
3. Special frame glasses, produced in Germany, to be ordered. It is suitable for children who have myopia at the beginning and want to control myopia.
6. Rimmed glasses to control myopia
Qinqin's parents are all short-sighted, about 200 degrees. Because he was worried that Qinqin would suffer from myopia, Qinqin started eye examination at the age of 3. When Qin Qin was 5 years old, he had 100 degrees of myopia; when he was 8 years old, he had 250 degrees of myopia.
Qinqin likes to play with his parents' smartphones and tablet computers. Although his parents correct his bad visual habits, they are afraid of increasing myopia and hope that the optometrist will fit him with OK lenses. However, Qinqin's eyes are sensitive, and the eyelashes are inverted, so it is not suitable to use the OK lens. So the optometrist fitted him with rimmed glasses to control myopia. The specially designed lenses can control myopia and reduce hygiene problems if used on a daily basis.
This year, the degree has not changed.
7. Presbyopia and contact lenses
What is presbyopia? When you find it hard to see at close range, or you take off your glasses, the newspaper computer image is clearer, your eyes' ability to accommodate is weakened, and presbyopia occurs. If you have the habit of wearing contact lenses all the time, when you encounter presbyopia, you should seek an optometrist for a detailed inspection as soon as possible to avoid delays and worsen vision problems.
Even with presbyopia, you can continue to wear contact lenses, but how do you choose the right lens? There are pros and cons to each method.
Method 1: The method of adjusting the power of the existing contact lenses can increase the sharpness at close range and improve the problem of presbyopia by reducing the power. This method improves vision at near distances in both eyes, but blurs them at far distances. It is only suitable for people with mild presbyopia and those who do not have high requirements for clarity.
Method 2: Let the eyes divide the labor, one eye is responsible for looking far (retain the original degree), and the other eye is responsible for looking near (reduce the degree). However, due to the difference in the degree of the eyes, the sense of distance may become worse, and some may even feel uncomfortable. It is only suitable for people with mild presbyopia and those who do not have high requirements for clarity.
Method 3: Wear progressive contact lenses. This lens provides both far and near power, so it is easy to use, but because the eyes will receive both far and near images, the clarity will be poor, and it will take a long time for first-time wearers to get used to it.
Method 4: If you have high requirements for clarity, it is recommended to wear contact lenses with sufficient degrees (for distance vision), and wear appropriate presbyopic rimmed glasses whenever you read.
8. Are children really nearsighted?
Children are really short-sighted? There is a way to control the degree of myopia!
When children have myopia, parents should first check whether it is true myopia or false myopia.
Children may suffer from pseudomyopia. Therefore, in order to get a clear understanding of their eye condition (including degree, strabismus, amblyopia, hand-eye coordination, and whether eyelashes are inverted, etc.), parents should arrange a comprehensive eye examination for them.
Because children are growing and developing, they will overuse their eyesight and make the adjustment too tight, and will form "pseudo-myopia" in the early stage. Optometrists can clearly check to eliminate the possibility of pseudo-myopia. If the child is false myopia, but the wrong degree is matched, it may cause eye fatigue, even headache, or become true myopia.
Recently a younger sister, who has never worn glasses, told her mother that her vision was blurry. So I went to an ordinary optical shop for eye examination and found that it was 400 degrees of myopia. Due to the abnormal reaction, they were referred to the center for examination. The optometrist used a mydriatic solution for further examination to rule out the possibility of pseudomyopia. Finally, my sister is really short-sighted, but only about 150 degrees.
If children do suffer from myopia, the most basic method is to fit them with glasses, so that they often have clear vision. And coupled with regular review, follow-up of the child's degree, and the rate of increase in myopia, the optometrist can evaluate and recommend feasible methods to control myopia.
Aside from genetic factors, the main cause of myopia is children's long-term close reading and computer use. Prolonged use of the eye at close range can cause the ciliary muscle to over-regulate and spasm. When the ciliary muscle cannot recover in a short time, it becomes blurred when the distance is changed, so a pair of myopia glasses are used to compensate for the adjustment that cannot be recovered, so that the problem of blurred vision can be solved; but doing so brings the problem back to At the original point, the eye is used at close range again and has accommodation spasm, so the degree of myopia gradually deepens, so it falls into a vicious circle, which makes the degree of myopia increase by 100 to 200 degrees every year on average.