Hyperopia in children

Farsightedness (hyperopia) is a sort of refractive anomaly, conditioned by a short ocular anterior-posterior axis, small corneal diameter and a small anterior chamber of the eye. The crystalline lens thickness is usually unchanged. In hyperopic people, the image is focused not on a specific area of the retina but behind it. This is the reason for a blurred image that the retina perceives. If the eye bulb characteristics are abnormal and/or the refractive apparatus is weak, it contributes to the development of hyperopia.

Low degree of hyperopia is considered normal in small children and it passes in course of time while the eye bulb gets bigger when a child grows up and the optical focus is shifted to the retina. If a child has reached 10 years and is still hyperopic and the characteristics of the child’s eyesight are higher than his/her age norm, this is a serious problem that requires proper correction and therapy in order to prevent such grave eyesight problems as amblyopia ("lazy eye") or strabismus (in many cases internal), etc.

Hyperopic children have to strain their eyes to see well. The eye can cope with this at first and is able to compensate for the infant hyperopia, but it leads to the depression of function in visual cortical cells and to the development of eye problems, including Spasm of Accommodation – prolonged static strain on the eye muscles.

Diagnostics of Hyperopia

Hyperopia can be revealed only if a special testing is carried out: when pupils are dilated with medicated eye drops, the crystalline lens is relaxed and the genuine eye refraction is revealed. That is why it is recommended to visit an ophthalmologist at least once a year.

There are cases when children seem to have ideal eyesight characteristics but they really appear to have low degree of hyperopia that is compensated for by accommodation apparatus of the eye. These veiled eyesight problems impair general health of the child since the child stays for a long time unaware of these eye problems. The child becomes irritable or vice versa withdrawn, starts complaining of headaches and feeling sick. In this case, only a competent testing of the visual system and subsequent therapy can help to solve the problem.

Three grades of hyperopia:

• Low — up to 2 diopter
• Medium— from 2 to 5 diopter
• High— more than 5 diopter

Methods of treatment

It is necessary to start treating farsightedness (hyperopia) as soon as possible to prevent complications and to accelerate your childs functional recovery.

Preschool-aged children diagnosed with hyperopia require constant correction with positive lenses even if the degree of their hyperopia is quite low. The children over 7 years old are prescribed to wear glasses for visual activity at a close distance; and if the degree of hyperopia is high, constant correction with glasses or contact lenses is required.

If your child refuses to wear glasses, the doctors at the Excimer KIDS Eye Clinic will offer you an alternative method of correction, which are contact lenses. At the Excimer KIDS Eye Clinic, lenses of any type and complexity can be chosen for your child from the very young age. You will be offered the models designed by leading international manufacturers, such as Bausch& Lomb, Siba Vision, Hydro, Kooper, Vision and other.

Farsightedness (hyperopia) not only decreases eyesight and may trigger the development of strabismus or amblyopia, but it also makes a serious impact on the child’s entire visual system. Therefore, the earlier you turn to an ophthalmologist and start the necessary treatment the more chances there will be to prevent complications.

Preventive program for activating visual functions

Parents should specially consider the preventive program for activating visual functions that is offered at the Excimer KIDS Eye Clinic. This is a know-how method of visual stimulation and preventive treatment of eye diseases developed by the Excimer’s doctors. This program comprises a complex of procedures performed with help of specialized equipment depending on the peculiarities of a child’s eyes and the occurrence of pathologies.

Vacuum massage, ultrasound therapy, magnet therapy, electric stimulation, laser therapy, video and computerized auto-training and other procedures will help to improve general metabolic processes in the structures of the eye, to relieve discomfort and Spasm of Accommodation. This will be both healthy and interesting for your child since most procedures are held in the form of a game.

Myopia treatment schedules are prescribed by a doctor taking into account individual parameters of the child’s health and are carried out 4-5 times a year.

Furthermore, modern technologies and equipment at the Excimer KIDS Eye Clinic allow our doctors to successfully cure amblyopia in hyperopic patients.

For treating amblyopia, a revolutionary device Ambliokor is used at the Excimer KIDS. This equipment was developed by leading specialists of the Brain Institute. The device makes the child’s brain subconsciously reduce the periods of flat vision. This approach helps to optimize the work of visual cortex neurons, and the vision in this case improves significantly.