Is it still necessary to control the progression of myopia? , Eye Love Day｜Now that you can “remove your glasses” through surgery
Today is the 29th "National Eye Care Day". Recently, under the guidance of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, the Office of the Shanghai Patriotic Health Campaign Committee and the Shanghai Municipal Health Promotion Center organized the "Effectively Reduce the Incidence of Myopia and Protect a Bright Future Together" Shanghai Health Conference News came out at the special lecture event: The problem of myopia currently faced by our country is relatively serious, which is mainly characterized by high incidence, rapid growth and younger age. Relevant survey data from the National Health Commission show that the prevalence of myopia among Chinese children and adolescents in 2020 is 52.7%, including 35.6% among primary school students, 71.1% among junior high school students, and 80.5% among high school students. Many citizens believe that since the lens can be “removed” through surgery, is it still necessary to control myopia? Experts clarify the concept.
Liu Hong, chief physician of the Department of Ophthalmology at Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, said: The damage caused by myopia occurs slowly, and its long-term damage is indeed easy to be ignored. But it is undeniable that myopia has a long-term impact on children's physical and mental health and their entire lives. For example, industries such as military recruitment or pilots have very strict vision requirements, and myopia may have an impact on career choices. High myopia with a degree of myopia greater than 600 degrees is even more harmful.
"If high myopia is not effectively controlled, it will develop into pathological myopia, inducing retinal detachment, macular hemorrhage, cataracts, glaucoma and other eye diseases that may lead to blindness. Therefore, preventing and controlling high myopia at a younger age is the key to preventing and controlling myopia in adolescents. Liu Hong stressed, "What we have to do is not only prevent and control high myopia. Literature shows that for every 1.00D increase, the risk of myopic maculopathy increases by 67%; for every 1.00D decrease, the risk of myopic maculopathy increases." The risk is reduced by 40%, so it makes sense to try to control myopia.”
Experts say that today's primary and secondary school students have a heavier academic burden, but there are still many ways to help everyone protect their eyesight and delay and control the development of myopia. She listed four good strategies to scientifically control the progress of myopia——
The first is 0.01% atropine eye drops, which can slow down the development of myopia and is suitable for children over 6 years old whose myopia progresses rapidly and whose myopia cannot be controlled after correcting bad eye habits.
The second is functional frame glasses. This kind of specially designed peripheral defocus frame glasses can play a certain role in delaying the development of myopia. It must be worn except when sleeping.
Then there is the orthokeratology lens, which is currently recognized by the medical community as one of the methods that can effectively control myopia. Wearing OK glasses when sleeping at night allows children to see clearly without wearing glasses during the day. Long-term wear can delay the progression of myopia. However, it should be noted that special contact lenses such as OK lenses need to undergo a series of inspections and can only be fitted after meeting the conditions for wearing them. Doctor's advice must be followed.
Finally, there are defocused soft lenses, which are a special type of soft contact lenses suitable for children over 6 years old to wear during the day and can delay the growth of myopia. It is more comfortable than OK lenses and can be fitted up to 1000 degrees, but it is not suitable for children with high astigmatism and severe ocular surface diseases.
In outpatient clinics, the proportion of children with strabismus is also not small. Zou Leilei, attending physician at the Department of Ophthalmology at Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, said that strabismus means that both eyes cannot look at the same target at the same time. Only one eye looks at the target and the other eye is tilted to one side of the target. Generally speaking, if the degree of strabismus is larger, it is easier to detect; if the degree of strabismus is smaller, it must be discovered through careful inspection.
According to the direction of deviation, strabismus is divided into horizontal strabismus and vertical strabismus. Horizontal strabismus includes esotropia and exotropia, and vertical strabismus includes hypertropia and hypotropia. "If a child habitually tilts his head to one side, he may have a problem with squinting up and down. However, tilting the head is not necessarily an eye problem, and may also be caused by the neck muscles. In addition, the child's poor viewing habits may also It will cause head tilt." Zou Leilei taught parents how to determine whether their children have strabismus.
She said: "The way to distinguish is to cover one eye of the child. If the child no longer tilts his head at this time, it is caused by strabismus; if he still tilts his head, it is necessary to identify whether it is a bad habit or a neck muscle problem. It is recommended to go to the head and neck surgery for examination. Keeping the head tilted may affect the child's facial development. If the parents cannot determine the cause, it is recommended to take the child to the hospital for examination. "
Most strabismus requires surgical treatment, especially congenital esotropia, superior and inferior strabismus, and non-accommodative large-angle strabismus. However, accommodative esotropia only requires the wearing of hyperopia glasses, and small degrees of strabismus can also be treated by wearing prisms.
Experts finally emphasized that if children's common strabismus is not treated in time, they may lose their binocular vision function after the age of 12. At this time, even if the strabismus problem is solved through surgery, it can only have a cosmetic effect. Therefore, strabismus that affects binocular vision function should be treated as soon as possible.
