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Squint is not only a disease of the visual system, but also a cosmetic defect. In addition to serious visual impairment, a person suffering from strabismus experiences discomfort and self-doubt, it is difficult for him to communicate and adapt in a team.
What is strabismus
When the muscles of the visual system are developed unequally, the eye begins to look in the wrong direction. The weakening of certain muscles does not fix the eye in the right direction. Binocular vision of a healthy person merges two images that receive the right and left eye into one single three-dimensional image. People who have a squint, get from the right and left eyes so different pictures that the brain can not connect them together. Therefore, often children with strabismus, poorly oriented in space, can not accurately determine the shape of the object.Gradually, if strabismus is not treated, the body begins to reject the pictures of the “sick” eye and not take them into account. This is how amblyopia develops.
Amblyopia is the body's response to a split picture. The brain can not get a single and accurate image, so the nervous system blocks the image coming from the "squinting" eyes. Over time, the diseased eye loses visual acuity and the ability to focus on a particular object. Amblyopia develops very quickly in young children, which is why it is very important to show the child to a competent ophthalmologist with the first premises of strabismus.
Causes of strabismus in children and adults
Normally, small children can “swim” eyes. That is, they have not yet been fixed in one position due to the weakness of the eye muscles. Such a "swimming" of the pupils is allowed up to a maximum of six months of life. If the eyes mow after the seventh month of the child's life, this is considered a pathology and a good reason to turn to a pediatric oculist. Here are a few of the main reasons why a squint can appear.
- Squint is congenital or acquired.Normally, a newborn baby is diagnosed with hyperopia in about 3 diopters. Over time, the vision straightens. But sometimes farsightedness can be stronger than usual. In this case, to examine the surrounding objects, the child begins to strain his eyes. Due to weak visual muscles, the pupils can blur and start looking in different directions. This is one of the main causes of strabismus.
- Squint is one of the diseases that is inherited. This does not mean that if you have strabismus, your children will suffer from it too. Just the risk of illness in blood relatives is very high. If there is a squint in the family, you need to carefully monitor the health of your eyes.
- Anomalies of development of the eye muscles may occur in a child still in the womb. This can be the result of infections, high fever, illness or a side effect of strong medicines taken during pregnancy.
- Acquired strabismus is also not uncommon. It can occur due to diseases of the nervous system, head or eye injuries, severe psychological shock, reduced vision of one eye.In children, strabismus can develop from a previous infection or unsung astigmatism.
Squint is friendly or paralytic. In the first case, the eyes deviate from the norm in all positions at the same distance. Paralytic strabismus is characterized by the paralysis of one of the eye muscles. Also strabismus is divided into convergent, divergent, vertical and mixed. This separation is done according to the type of pupil deviation.
Is it possible to cure strabismus
Of course you can. Especially if you start treatment as early as possible, until amblyopia develops and the vision of the patient's eye does not begin to fall. Treatment of strabismus can be therapeutic and surgical, depending on the degree of deviation from the norm and the cause of strabismus. If strabismus is caused by an eye disease - astigmatism, nearsightedness or farsightedness, then this disease should be treated. Usually, eye correction is enough to restore eye health. For example, wearing glasses or contact lenses, selected after an individual and thorough diagnosis.
Sometimes, in order to activate the “lazy” eye, so that it does not lose visual acuity, a healthy eye is closed with a bandage.Corrective glasses for squint, which correct the angle of view, are also used very successfully. Such glasses must be constantly changed as the pupil is straightened. This method of treatment is especially effective in children, because their nervous system is still very malleable.
It is believed that strabismus can pass by itself. This opinion applies only to children under 6 months. If the strabismus persists after this age or appears later, one cannot hope and wait for the strabismus to pass by itself. The time to start treatment is half the successful outcome. Moreover, modern technologies of development of medicine offer operations that completely eliminate strabismus and return visual acuity.
Strabismus exercises
I would like to note that the treatment of strabismus without surgery is a long way in a few months and even years. But with the right approach and compliance with all the requirements of a doctor, you can completely get rid of this disease. The most effective is to strengthen the eye muscles with the help of special exercises.
- Stand up straight and stretch your hand in front of you. Focus on one finger.Then you need to slowly bring a finger to his face, and then slowly take back. The head is motionless, only the pupils are watching one point. After that, slide your finger left, right, up and down. Repeat each movement 5 times.
- Stand at the window and stick a picture with bright colors on the glass. Look at the picture at arm's length. Then look at the antenna of the neighboring house or any other object in the distance. After 30 seconds, look again at the picture. Thus, you focus your vision on the far and near object, this is an excellent exercise for training the eye muscles. Separately, the exercise can be done with one sore eye.
- The next exercise is the eight. Pupils need to draw in front of him a huge eight. Movements should be smooth, try not to cut corners. After that, try to make an inverted figure eight - a sign of infinity. Do the exercise slowly and carefully.
- Have you been to the tennis court? This is a great place to practice your eyesight. The constant change in the position of the ball causes the eyes to move from side to side. Instead of tennis you can use any ball games - volleyball or basketball.You can watch the game or participate in it - it is equally useful for vision.
- Practice the eye that mows. Close the bandage with a healthy eye and try to look with a sore eye in the direction where he does not want to turn. Look at a bright object with at least side vision, train an undeveloped muscle.
- If you encounter a squint in a small child, he will not be able to consciously perform exercises for the eyes. Therefore, show him colorful images that need to be placed to the right and left of him. Constantly ask - "Where is the bird?", "Where is the ant?", So that the child involuntarily trained the muscles of the eyes, looking up and down.
Patient daily work will help restore a sore eye. Regular exercise will make you not only healthy, but also a confident person. This is evidenced by the huge amount of positive feedback from people who won this disease. Be healthy and happy!
Video: how to return a direct look
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