Tips for preventing the health of children's eyes

Over the past two decades, the World Health Organization, in cooperation with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, has noted World Sight Day. The aim is to encourage international commitment to vision problems and blindness, as well as promoting measures and activities aimed at the protection of eye health. The date is every second Thursday of October, this year we celebrate it today, October 10th, and the theme is focused on visual disturbances in childhood.

Globally, more than 1.4 million children are blind — irreversibly. The causes are diverse, and epidemiological studies have established a link between the socio-economic development of a country and childhood blindness. The incidence of blindness is highest in the poorest countries, and the causes are mainly related to vitamin deficiency (vitamin A), infectious diseases (smallpox, rubella, trachoma), as well as congenital cataracts.

In the middle-developed countries, to which Bulgaria also refers, the leading causes of childhood blindness are cortical visual impairment, retinopathy of prematurity and atrophy of the optic nerve. These diseases are extremely severe and present a challenge for any specialist who encounters them, and in the most severe cases the prognosis for vision is poor.

Another serious problem is refractive abnormalities, which are associated with decreased visual acuity, seriously impairing the quality of life. If a young child is left with an undiagnosed refractive abnormality and, accordingly, uncorrected, this poses a serious risk of developing the so-called “lazy eye” - a condition in which the image from the weaker eye is permanently suppressed by the central nervous system and visual acuity remains low.

In the case of refractive abnormalities, alarming tendencies are observed with regard to myopia or so-called myopia. This is a condition in which the image of the observed object is focused in front of the retina, which leads to blurring, and the causes are most often related to a larger antero-posterior axis of the eyeball — this is the so-called axial myopia. Children complain of blurring of the image, blurred vision, often there may be headaches and discomfort, and most often the symptoms begin at school age— between 6 and 14 years To correct myopia, optical means are used — glasses, and in some cases contact lenses. In recent years, various methods aimed at slowing the growth of diopters are gaining popularity — highly diluted atropine drops, glasses with special glass geometry and special contact lenses. These methods do not provide proven 100% efficacy in slowing the growth of myopia, but they have their place in the management of this condition.

Preventive eye examinations in children are key to early detection and timely intervention for eye problems, such as myopia and refractive abnormalities. These examinations can prevent the development of serious conditions, such as “lazy eye”, and significantly improve the quality of life of children. Prevention and regular check-ups not only contribute to better children's health, but also help their development and success in school. To ensure the best future for our children, we must promote the care of their eye health from an early age.

We share with you some useful tips to maintain eye health in children:

1. Regular eye examinations: Take the child for a preventive eye examination at least once a year, even if there are no complaints. Early detection of problems is key to their successful treatment.
2. Limiting screen time: Reduce the time your child spends in front of digital devices such as tablets, smartphones and computers. For young children, it is advisable not to use a screen for more than 1 hour a day. If the child is older and learning requires working with a computer, encourage regular breaks from the screen (20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, rest for 20 seconds and look at something 20 feet (6 meters) away) so that the child can move and refocus his eyes.
3. Enough time in the open air: Encourage the child to spend more time outdoors. Research has shown that children who spend more time in natural light have a lower risk of developing myopia (myopia). Spending time outdoors is important for a child's overall physical and mental health.
4. Healthy and balanced diet: Provide a varied diet rich in vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin A, C, E and zinc, which are important for maintaining good vision. Vegetables such as carrots, spinach and sweet potatoes, as well as fruits such as blueberries and citrus, are good for the eyes.
5. Correction of vision problems: If your child needs glasses or contact lenses, make sure they are used correctly and regularly. Correcting refractive abnormalities is important to prevent more serious problems, such as amblyopia (lazy eye).
6. Correct posture and lighting when studying: Make sure that the child has a correct posture while reading or writing, and that his workplace is well lit. This helps to avoid eye strain.
7. Eye hygiene: Teach the child not to touch or rub his eyes with dirty hands to prevent infectious diseases such as conjunctivitis. Good hygiene is important for eye health.
8. Wearing safety glasses: In sports or activities that can injure the eyes, make sure that the child wears appropriate safety glasses. This can prevent serious injuries and injuries. Wearing sunglasses in the summer is especially important for children, as the high transparency of the eye environments and the wider pupil in children, allow greater amounts of sunlight and, consequently, UV rays to the eyes. In summer, choose glasses that block 100% of UV rays.
9. Knowing the symptoms of vision problems: Teach your children to share with you if they has complaints such as blurred vision, headache, eye strain, or difficulty reading. These symptoms may signal vision problems that require attention from a specialist.

Talk to your children about how important it is to take care of their eyesight, explaining to them how healthy eyes are important for success in school, in sports and in everyday activities. Help children feel free of any social stigmas associated with wearing glasses. Encourage them to feel confident and proud if they need to wear glasses. Reassure them that taking care of their eyesight is an act of courage and maturity and that wearing glasses is something totally normal and even fashionable and many people around the world do, including their friends, teachers and celebrities.

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Trust our ophthalmology specialists at Haelan Medical Centers and make an appointment.

Varna:

Dr. Anna Ilieva |Haelan (haelan.bg)

Sofia:

Dr. EkaterinaPetrova | Haelan (haelan.bg)

Dr. Polina Marinova |Haelan (haelan.bg)

Dr. Nikolay Staykov |Haelan (haelan.bg)