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Childhood Myopia: Symptoms And Causes

Myopia (also known as nearsightedness) is one of the most common refractive errors in children. It causes objects located far away to look blurry. Although not a vision-threatening eye condition, myopia in childhood can affect your child’s performance in school and extracurricular activities.

Childhood myopia: Symptoms and causes

1) Symptoms of childhood myopia

Experiencing difficulty in clearly seeing distant objects is the primary symptom of myopia in childhood. Other symptoms that your child may experience include general eye pain and eye irritation.

In many cases, children do not complain about the symptoms because they are not aware of refractive error. Also, in some cases, they are too young to comprehend the problem they are facing.

If your child moves towards a distant object (e.g. a TV to see clearly), it is a valid indication of childhood myopia. Look out for other signs like redness of the eye, itchiness, and tearing.

If you notice these symptoms in your child, take them to an eye specialist. If you are a resident of West Bengal, visit your nearest Disha Eye Hospital. With a team of the best eye specialists in Kolkata, we are dedicated to providing comprehensive eye care for all. One of these doctors could perform the proper diagnosis for your child’s myopia, and assist in starting an early treatment. Book an appointment online at http://www.dishaeye.org

2) Causes of childhood myopia

Childhood myopia occurs when the length of the eyeball (from front to back) is slightly longer than normal. The abnormality in structure causes the light rays (which are perceived as images) to focus on the front of the retina and not directly on it. As a result, distant vision becomes blurry.

Family history is one of the most common factors that increase the risk of childhood myopia. If you or your spouse have myopia, your child is highly likely to develop the refractive error.

3) Diagnosis of childhood myopia

Diagnosis of childhood myopia is done through a refraction test. The eye specialist may also perform retinoscopy to get an objective measurement of the refractive error. Additional tests are performed in order to determine the type and severity of myopia. Your child could be tested on their ability to focus on close objects, eye movements, and binocular vision.

4) Treatment of childhood myopia

Distant vision becomes a hindrance to learning as your child enters school. Eye specialists often prescribe eyeglasses to temporarily correct childhood myopia. It is necessary for children with 20/40 vision, or worse, to wear prescription eyeglasses.

Wearing bifocals or reading glasses may slow down the development of myopia in some cases. When prescribing bifocals, eye specialists generally instruct the line to be placed higher, in order to encourage the use of bifocal power. Refractive surgery is not recommended for children and is only suitable for adults.

Many adolescents prefer wearing contact lenses over prescription eyeglasses. One of the biggest benefits of using contact lenses is that they improve peripheral vision. This characteristic is highly beneficial for adolescents with high degrees of myopia.

Visit Disha Eye Hospitals with your child to receive comprehensive eye care

Disha Eye Hospitals have some of the best cornea, lens, and retina specialists in Kolkata. We offer advanced medical technology-led eye care services for both adults and children.

One of our main goals is to make our eye care services affordable for all. We believe everybody deserves access to good eye health. We are working to ensure that people from all sections of society have access to modern eye care and maintain good eye health.

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Refractive Errors In Children

Refractive errors are one of the most common eye conditions found in children. Refractive errors are often considered a minor eye-related issue. However, it is important not to let it take a backseat as it can affect vision. Impaired vision can, in turn, affect your child’s performance in school and social activities.

What are refractive errors?

In order for anybody to see clearly, the light that enters the eye must precisely focus on the retina, the portion at the back of the eyes that are composed of light-sensitive cells. The two parts of the eyes, lens and cornea, play an important role in focusing light rays on the retina. The presence of a refractive error is felt when the light does not precisely focus on the retina.

Refractive errors in children

Types of refractive errors found in children

Myopia

Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is a condition where objects located in a distance appear blurry or out of focus. Myopia is the most common type of refractive error found in children. Although blurry-distant-vision is the primary symptom of myopia, children are too young or unaware to discern it or complain about it.

Secondary symptoms may indicate the presence of refractive error in your child. Some of the common secondary symptoms to watch out for include sitting too close to the TV or holding books up close in the face. Take notice if your child suddenly loses interest in sports that require good distant vision.

In case you observe these symptoms in your child, schedule an appointment with an eye doctor as soon as possible. If you are looking for an eye hospital in Kolkata, visit Disha Eye Hospitals as they have a team of the best paediatric eye doctors, who would carry out a proper diagnosis of your child’s refractive error.

Hyperopia                 

Hyperopia, or also known as farsightedness, is when objects located close by appearing blurry or out of focus. This refractive error is very common in children. Some of the common symptoms of hyperopia in children are eye tiredness, eye strain, and headaches. A few external signs of hyperopia that you might notice in your child include difficulty in reading, eye rubbing, and squinting.

Astigmatism

Astigmatism is the blurriness of both close and distant vision. In many cases, astigmatism begins in early childhood; the refractive error can develop in adulthood as well. Persisting eye fatigue (tiredness), eye strain, and headaches are some of the common symptoms of astigmatism that your child may experience.

Causes of refractive errors

Just like the symptoms, causes of refractive errors vary. Myopia commonly occurs when the eye’s refractive power is too strong. A longer length of the eyeball axis is another important cause of myopia.

Hyperopia can occur when the length of the eyeball axis is short. The refractive error can also occur when the eye has a weak refractive power. Astigmatism often occurs due to abnormal curvature of the cornea. In many cases, refractive error is inherited, meaning if you or your spouse have a refractive error, your child is likely to develop the condition.

Treatment of refractive errors

Paediatric eye doctors usually prescribe eyeglasses or contact lenses in order to temporarily correct refractive errors in children. Prescription eyeglasses are often the preferred refractive error correction option for younger children. This is because they are safer as compared to prescription contact lenses.

Take help from one of Disha’s paediatric eye doctors

Choose the best eye specialists in Kolkata from the paediatric eye care department, who can help you in selecting the right treatment option for your child. Learn more about the hospital at  http://www.dishaeye.org/.