Dilated Pupilometry and Small Pupil Optometry
Dilated pupil optometry: Optometry performed with medication to paralyze the ciliary muscle of the eye, so that accommodation is at rest, and is suitable for adolescents under 18 years of age or adults with strong accommodation.
Small pupil optometry: Optometry is performed when accommodation is restored or present, and is suitable for reviewing the results of dilated optometry, or for adult optometry in general.
Dilated pupils are required for optometry for adolescents under 18 years of age
Dilated optometry requires that the pupil be dilated only superficially. The essence of dilated optometry is to completely relax the ciliary muscle and loosen the adjustment to get the true refractive state of the eye.
The eye is like an “auto-zoom” camera that can see both near and far through the contraction and relaxation of the ciliary muscle and the elasticity of the lens. In adolescents, it is sometimes difficult to return to a relaxed state in a short period of time because of the strong and prolonged regulation. What was originally mild farsightedness or farsightedness astigmatism manifests as mild myopia or myopic astigmatism. It is like a person who is always bending his back and working, once he has to be measured, the tailor is difficult to measure the right size.
In view of this, for adolescents under the age of 18, optometry requires routine pupil dilatation to relax the ciliary muscle and make it completely paralyzed to avoid the effects of adjustment spasms and to ensure the authenticity and accuracy of the optometry.
Some adults also require dilated pupils
The importance of dilated pupils is gradually being recognized, and it is well known that young people under the age of 18 should have their pupils dilated, however, for those over the age of 18 who have adjusted myopia or hyperopia, they should also have their pupils dilated in order to relax their adjustments and get an accurate refraction.
Dilated pupils are not harmful to the eyes
Many parents think that dilated pupils can harm their children’s vision, so they are concerned about them and even refuse to give them to their children. In fact, dilated pupils are a temporary effect of the medication, and the effect on children is only temporal. After the pupil is dilated, the child will experience temporary photophobia and difficulty seeing near, which will return on its own after a period of time, and will not harm the eyes even if the pupil is dilated several times.
Key points of atropine pupil dilatation
Optometry for children mostly uses atropine eye ointment to fully paralyze the ciliary muscle.
Dosage and usage: 1% atropine ophthalmic ointment, once daily in the morning and once daily in the evening, applied to both eyes in appropriate amounts for five days, no eye dots on the sixth day, and optometry at the hospital on the seventh day. Or three times a day in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening, for three days in a row, and on the fourth day without eye dots, and on the fifth day to the hospital for examination.
How to use: Take the patient in the recumbent position, use a cotton swab to take 1% atropine eye ointment of the size of a grain of rice, gently pick open the patient’s lower eyelid, ask him to look upward, apply the eye ointment to the eye, compress the inner corner of the eye for 5-10 minutes, and then the patient can open both eyes.
Pay attention to avoid the adverse effects of atropine
(1) Atropine dilates the pupil, and it is normal for patients to experience photophobia and difficulty seeing near.
(2) Avoid bright light stimulation during pupil dilatation, and wear a sun hat or sunglasses for outdoor activities.
(3) Due to blurred vision during pupil dilatation, children should be watched carefully to avoid bruising.
(4) The purpose of dilating the pupil is to relax the regulation of the ciliary muscle, so try not to use the eyes at close range during this period.
(5) In a very small number of children, if symptoms such as flushing, thirst, fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, hallucinations, or excitement appear after pupil dilatation, consider this to be an adverse reaction to atropine and stop the drug immediately or consult an ophthalmologist.
(6) It takes about 3 weeks for the pupil to return to normal after atropine is discontinued, but the time for pupil recovery may vary depending on individual differences.