Short-sightedness

General characteristic of a disease

Short-sightedness or myopia is the widespread disturbance of a refraction of an eye leading to the bad clearness of sight. Short-sighted people badly see the objects removed from them. This feature of sight is quite often caused by an abnormal form of an eyeglobe. At short-sightedness it has the oval form therefore focusing of beams happens not on the retina, and ahead of it, and the image turns out indistinct.

Eyeglobe stretching at short-sightedness leads to even more considerable deterioration in sight because of retina dystrophy. It gradually becomes thinner and can become torn or exfoliate as a result of an injury or falling.

Short-sightedness – the disease of the younger generation is preferential. Around the world not less than 1 billion people whose bulk school students students and other persons to 30-year age suffer from it.

Forms, degrees, types of short-sightedness

Children can have an inborn short-sightedness. In this case the child is already born with the broken refraction of eyes and from the earliest age needs correction of short-sightedness.

The hereditary form of a disease is shown from 1 to 18 years at a half of children whose parents suffer from short-sightedness.

Development of the acquired short-sightedness in children of 7-16 years most often is caused by visual work in bad conditions (at the wrong lighting or landing during written works, and also at excessive hobby for the computer). However the disease and in this case is also provoked by hereditary factors - predisposition to weakness of eye muscles and irregular shape of an eyeglobe.

On disease degree of manifestation short-sightedness can be weak (to 3,0 diopter.), average (to 6,0 diopter.) and strong (it is higher than 6,0 diopter.).

Depending on a developmental character of a disease distinguish stationary and progressing types of short-sightedness. At the first type of a myopia sight of the patient is broken, but does not worsen over time. The progressing short-sightedness at children and adults is characterized by continuous decrease in visual acuity to several dioptries in a year.

Diagnosis of short-sightedness

At short-sightedness there are no other explicit morphological changes in structure of organs of sight except an oval form of an eyeglobe. Existence of short-sightedness at children can be suspected, watching behavior of the child: one of explicit symptoms of a myopia – a prishchurivaniye thanks to which the picture becomes more accurate.

The ophthalmologist specifies the diagnosis during check of sight according to Sivtsev's table. The doctor at the same time can use corrective glasses. The physical and clinical refraction of an eye at short-sightedness is checked by means of an oftalmometr, the refractometer and/or a dioptron. For the best visibility of an eyeground to the patient the tsiploplegiya – a mydriasis by atropine or skopalominy is preposted.

To establish an etiology of short-sightedness the ekhooftalmograf is applied. It allows to calculate a sagittal axis of eyes (distance from the center of a retina to visual area). The received results correspond the patient with age, and only on the basis of qualitative and quantitative assessment of a refraction the diagnosis is established and treatment of short-sightedness is planned.

Conservative treatment of short-sightedness

Problem of conservative correction of short-sightedness - without operations only by means of points, contact or hardware techniques to change abnormal a refraction of eyes.

Points – the most traditional way of correction of short-sightedness. At exact selection of lenses it is possible to provide comfortable sight and to eliminate tension of eyes.-Point correction - one of the most widespread techniques of treatment of short-sightedness at children. However it has also shortcomings: inconvenience during sports activities, limitation of peripheral sight, disturbance of space perception and injury risk.

Contact correction of short-sightedness by means of lenses can be applied in the day or night mode. In the second case the corrective lens changes during sleep curvature of a cornea and provides effect of normal sight for all next day.

Lenses for correction of short-sightedness are convenient and capable to improve sight considerably. However it is contraindicated to carry them during infectious diseases. Perhaps also traumatizing an eye or infection at the wrong carrying or use of unsterile lenses.

In hardware treatment of short-sightedness points masseurs, corrective computer programs, ultrasonic, infrared laser and magnetotherapy, vacuum massage, and also electrostimulation are applied. The course of conservative correction of short-sightedness is formed individually, on average for 10 days with serial use to 5 various devices.

It is worth approaching selection of eyeglass lenses extremely responsibly, the low-quality optics can lead to deterioration in symptoms of short-sightedness.

Surgical treatment of short-sightedness

Laser correction of sight — the least dangerous type of operation at short-sightedness. The procedure consists in change of curvature of a cornea with a laser beam. Treatment happens on an outpatient basis to use of a local anesthesia. Low-invasive laser short-sightedness operation lasts up to 60 seconds. Its effect lifelong, and after use of this technique the patient does not need any more optical ways of correction of sight – lenses or points.

Treatment of sight by means of the laser is contraindicated at short-sightedness at children, during pregnancy, a lactation, at a cataract, glaucoma, and also at intensive progressing of a disease. In this case carrying out a scleroplasty is recommended. During it the donor sclera for prevention of further stretching of an eyeglobe is implanted to the patient. And laser correction of sight becomes already following stage in treatment of short-sightedness.

Other look surgical short-sightedness operations a lazerokoagulyation is appointed to the patient at retina dystrophy. This technique does not improve sight, but allows to prevent further thinning, amotio or a rupture of a retina.

Short-sightedness operation with implantation in an eye of a contact lens is performed at contraindications of laser correction of a disease. Material of a lens is compatible to tissues of an eye and has a lifelong warranty. The natural crystalline lens at the same time remains, and permanent improvement sight occurs 5-6 hours later after operation.