Developmental characteristics of pediatric vision
The developmental process of vision in young children
The newborn’s eye is about 2/3 of the size of an adult’s eye, and at birth the vision can only distinguish between light and dark.
At 1 week, infants can have transient fixation, which is the ability to focus slightly on something, but not for long periods of time.
In the next few months, they develop rapidly, and by the time they are 3 months old, their vision is about 0.01, and they can already stare clearly at things that move in front of them.
At 3-4 months of age, the child learns to look at objects with both eyes at the same time, at which time his stereo vision develops, but stereo vision is usually not fully developed until 3-5 years of age.
At 6 months of age, it is possible to focus clearly on objects with the “central recess”.
At the age of 1 year, the visual acuity has reached about 0.2, which is equivalent to about 200 degrees of adult myopia.
After that, the visual acuity will increase year by year, the eye is also gradually elongated, 3-year-old children have 0.5 to 0.6 vision, the normal development of children during this period should have low farsightedness, the size of the two eyeballs is about 2.2cm, very close to the adult eye 2.4cm. 6-year-old children can reach 1.0 normal visual acuity, the visual system is basically fully developed. Although children can present a farsighted state until the age of 6, they will not exceed 200 degrees of farsightedness without relaxation of accommodation.
How to detect pediatric vision disorders early
During the 0-3 years of age, we need to look at the baby’s reactions, such as whether there will be a reaction to the light, whether the eyes will follow the moving toys, if there is no reaction at all, then there is a problem.
Also observe the child’s eyes, especially in the middle of the pupil whether there is a white condition (congenital cataract), and whether the eyes will flutter rapidly when gazing (nystagmus).
Also note whether the size of both eyes is even and symmetrical, and whether they are too large or too small when compared to other normal infants in general.
The 3-7 years old stage is the fastest growing stage of children, but also the peak of strabismus and amblyopia onset and detection, because at this stage many children begin to learn knowledge, a lot of observation to know the outside world, which parents should pay attention to: the child in reading, writing when the book is not too close to the book; when he looks at people to see things when the two eyes are not together, there is no always eye to see, the other eye The problem of the other eye tilted to the side; also pay attention to the child’s head when looking at things with a tilted head, the phenomenon of side head.
Consciously establish a “refractive file” for your child
Every six months, visit the ophthalmology department for medical optometry, intraocular pressure, fundus, etc. In addition, measurement of the eye axis and corneal curvature is very important.
How to treat refractive error correctly
Nearly 200 million children in China have optometric disorders such as myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, etc. When a child suffers from refractive error, the first thing is to go to a regular medical institution for examination to exclude organic eye diseases, when the refractive examination cannot reach 1.0 corrected visual acuity, the child may have amblyopia, we need to carry out amblyopia treatment, etc.; if there is mild myopia, the child has high requirements for distance vision, it is recommended to wear appropriate glasses as soon as possible, the degree below 200 degrees can not be worn often, 200 degrees Astigmatism can also affect vision to a certain extent, so it should be corrected when necessary. If you have low farsightedness and good corrected vision, you may not wear glasses, but you must wear them if you have high amblyopia or strabismus.
What is amblyopia? How to detect it early?
Amblyopia is a condition in which no organic pathology is found, but the visual acuity is less than 1.0 after refractive correction, which can be divided into mild, moderate and severe amblyopia according to the degree; the corrected potential is less than 0.8 is called mild, less than 0.5 is called moderate, and severe is even only 0.1. Some are genetic, some are refractive errors (high myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, refractive error, etc.). The cure rate is 100% within 3 years of age, 90% or more between 3 and 5 years of age, and plummeting beyond 6 years of age.
Myopia occurs as a combination of genetic and environmental factors
Myopia is mainly determined by two factors: on the one hand, it is related to heredity; on the other hand, it is closely related to environmental factors. According to the survey data of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, the myopia rate among teenagers in our country is close to 60%, with myopia accounting for 10-20% of elementary school students, 40-55% of junior high school students, over 80% of high school students, and almost 85% of college students having varying degrees of myopia.
Genetic factors: If one parent is nearsighted, the likelihood of myopia in the child is 50%, and if both parents are nearsighted, 100% of the child will be nearsighted.
Environmental factors: also very important! During the growth and development of the eye in childhood, the eye axis will grow too fast due to the presence of undesirable factors such as early close reading, incorrect writing and sitting posture, excessive study load, little physical exercise, excessive computer and television use, uneven light, and improper prescription of glasses, etc.
Myopia prevention
To a certain extent, myopia can be prevented
First, lighting should be sufficient but not too bright, preferably in natural light without direct sunlight, and the lighting on the desk should be located in the upper left corner.
Second, let children combine work and rest, whether doing homework or watching TV, not too long at a time, within 30 minutes, let children play and look far away
Third, to ensure sufficient sleep
Fourth, do not be partial to food, not picky, eat less sweets