Myopia in children

introduction

In many cases hereditary factors, myopia can also become noticeable in childhood. The treatment methods are usually successful if the therapy is started early and depend on the age and degree of the child's myopia.

What does myopia mean in children?

Myopia is the most common Ametropia of the Ophthalmology and can affect adults and children alike since it is innate.
The eyeball is too long with this ametropia, so that the light rays are not on but in front of the Retina bundle up. Another reason for myopia can also be in an incorrect refractive power of Cornea or lens.
Myopia results in blurred images of distant objects.

In childhood, nearsightedness usually manifests itself at the latest when the child goes to school for the first time, when the child, unlike classmates, cannot recognize the writing on the blackboard. Usually then kick Tension headache up to migraine on.

Evidence of myopia in children

If the child blinks their eyelids a lot when they look into the distance, squinting their eyes and frowning hard, these are important indicators of uncorrected myopia.
Even when playing ball games, a short-sighted child often misses the point because it does not recognize the ball correctly from a distance and thus incorrectly estimates when it will catch it.

Read more on the topic:

• Recognizing poor eyesight in children - does my child see correctly?
• Visual disturbances in children

Treatment of myopia in children

An untreated one myopia progresses so that the eyes continually deteriorate. It is therefore important to pay attention to early signs and, if necessary, to have them checked out by an ophthalmologist.

In very severe cases, a LASIK, i.e. laser surgery, is recommended, but it is usually waited until growth is complete.

It is more common to treat myopia with a glasses or with older children (approx. from 10 years) also with contact lenses.

It is important that the values ​​are actually correctly adjusted to the child’s eyesight, as overcorrection is too persistent a headache can lead. A so-called "80% undercorrection"So that the child is sufficiently sharp, but not"razor sharp“Sees. This is less stressful for the eyes and mostly stabilizes the values ​​instead of worsening them further. Ophthalmologists must be explicitly asked for this undercorrection and many are initially reluctant to do so, but in the long run it is better for the child's eyes.