Myopia in children is not very common. However, this problem occurs quite often. The problem can become especially acute when the child goes to school, as the strain on the eyes increases significantly. Like any other disease, myopia requires accurate diagnosis and prompt treatment.
A set of exercises for childhood myopia
In this article you will learn the causes of myopia, and also learn eye exercises for myopia in children.
What results does eye gymnastics give?
Doctors and patients themselves note a noticeable improvement in the quality of vision after sets of exercises were prescribed and regularly performed for a certain time. They are especially useful for hereditary myopia and for children of primary school age when starting school. In general, any eye exercise for myopia has the following effect:
- helps relax the eye muscles, relieving tension;
- eliminates signs of asthenopia and spasm of accommodation;
- by stimulating the lacrimal glands, it helps prevent dry eyes;
- improves contrast and focus;
- strengthens the sclera;
- normalizes blood circulation in the structures of the eye, supplying them with oxygen and other nutrients.
And, of course, most importantly, eye exercises help stop the development of myopia. We remind you that we are talking about prevention for weak and moderate degrees. In severe cases, correction is required in other ways - exercises, alas, in such cases will no longer have an effect.
Why is it useful?
The benefit of the exercise for restoring vision using the Zhdanov method for myopia is that it allows you to relieve tension, redness and improve blood flow in the eyeball. If you do gymnastics regularly, you may even improve your visual function. But to get the benefits from the exercises, they should be performed comprehensively. Carry out gymnastics 2-3 times a day.
It is important to understand that myopia is fraught with deformation of the eyeball, and this leads to the development of glaucoma (the reasons for the development of this disease are very different). This disease is characterized by deviations from normal eye pressure, which, in turn, leads to deterioration of vision, thinning of eye structures, optic nerve atrophy, and retinal diseases. As a result, a person loses vision, and in some cases, the organ itself. Advanced inflammatory processes can spread to the eye socket, affect adjacent tissues and even damage the brain. But the initial symptoms, for example, the involuntary closure of one or both eyelids (blepharospasm), are worth paying attention to. The first signs of blepharospasm may be an involuntary increase in the amount of blinking in one or both eyes, or difficulty keeping the eye open.
A set of exercises for the prevention of myopia according to Avetisov
The famous Soviet ophthalmologist E. S. Avetisov developed a group of simple exercises to prevent myopia in school-age children. They include a variety of eye movements that help strengthen muscles, improve blood circulation, and train accommodation:
- First, you need to tightly close each eye in turn for three to five seconds, then open it for the same time.
- You need to blink rapidly for 10-15 seconds, then keep your eyes open for seven to ten seconds. Repeat 3-4 times.
- With three middle fingers you need to press lightly on the closed eyelid, placing them evenly in the middle and in the corners.
- Next, you need to slowly raise your eyes up, then move them down. Repeat 10-12 times.
- You should turn your eyes to the left as far as possible, then move your gaze to the right. Repeat 8-10 times.
- It is necessary to rotate your eyes clockwise and then counterclockwise. Make 4-6 circles in each direction.
- The baby should extend his hand forward, with his index finger extended, and look at its tip for 3-5 seconds. Then you need to slowly bring your finger closer to your nose, continuing to look at it until it begins to double. Repeat 6-8 times.
A set of exercises for the prevention of myopia in children according to Avetisov consists of various exercises that provide good results if performed regularly. Parents need to supervise the classes at first, making sure that the child does all the movements correctly.
It should be noted that gymnastics using the Avetisov method gives only a preventive effect. If a child already has a certain degree of myopia, then classes according to the Bates system will be more effective for him. They are aimed at relieving tension in the eye muscles by performing special relaxation exercises.
Gymnastic complex for relieving fatigue and toning the eye muscles in a child
Correct and regular performance of these exercises will improve the condition of the child’s eye muscles. Improved blood circulation will saturate the muscles with useful substances, and they will become stronger and more resilient.
The gymnastic complex consists of the following exercises:
- Class. Draw the number 8 with your eyes. The exercise must be performed extremely slowly and smoothly, without sudden movements. It is necessary to repeat the manipulation 6 times.
- Class. Raise your right arm and extend it forward. After this, you need to look at your fingers for several seconds, and then smoothly move your hand to the right side, without taking your eyes off the point, look through your fingers. The head should look strictly straight. The same eye exercise is repeated with the other hand. The gymnastic complex is performed 6 times.
- Class. For several seconds you need to look at a distant object, and then you need to raise your hand so that your finger is located at a distance of 40 centimeters from your eyes. You need to look at it, and then again at a distant object. The exercise is repeated 12 times.
- Class. You need to raise your hand and place your finger at a distance of 30 centimeters from your eyes. Field of which you need to focus your vision on its tip for 5 seconds. When performing the exercise, you need to alternate eyes. The exercise is repeated several times.
- Class. You need to stretch out your hand and take a pencil. You should move the pencil in different directions and at the same time visually monitor it. The head should not move.
- Class. Performed while standing. To perform it, you need to put your legs wider and put your hands on your belt, in order to do this you need to smoothly turn your head in different directions and follow the direction of movement. The manipulation is repeated 15 times for each side.
- Class. Open your eyes wide, then squint and lower your eyelids. The exercise must be repeated several times. It is mainly necessary to improve the clarity of vision without squinting.
Bates training system
W. G. Bates is an American physician who developed sets of exercises for eye training for various visual impairments. They are built on relaxing the optic nerve and strengthening the ciliary muscles. Let's talk about some of them that children are quite capable of performing:
- You should look at the colorful drawing for a few seconds, and then close your eyelids and try to mentally reproduce it in all details. This usually takes about a few minutes.
- You need to close your eyes and imagine different colors in turn: red, blue, green, yellow, black. This exercise trains the cells of the visual analyzers. Each color must be imagined within 2-3 seconds.
- You need to imagine a flower and “draw” all its details in your imagination: petals, stem, leaves, stamens, even dew on the leaves. Then imagine an insect flying around the inflorescence or crawling along the stem.
- “Drawing” with the eyes of various shapes: a snake, a rectangle, a triangle, numbers from 0 to 9, and so on.
- One eye should be covered with a tight bandage and do normal activities (but do not sit in front of the computer or TV, do not read). After half an hour, the bandage should be put on the other eye.
Degrees of myopia in children
According to the classification, myopia is distinguished:
- 1st degree. The child's vision deteriorates by no more than 3 diopters. The fundus of the eye was practically unchanged on examination. In some cases, a myopic cone is visible at the optic nerve head.
- 2nd degree. At this stage of the disease, the child needs an additional means of correction from 3 to 6 diopters. During instrumental examination, initial dystrophic changes and narrowing of the vascular network are observed.
- 3rd degree. Belongs to high myopia, which requires a correction agent greater than 6.25 diopters. The baby has pronounced atrophic changes, increased pigmentation, and areas with hemorrhages appear.
A pediatric ophthalmologist can select the correct treatment and determine the degree of myopia after an instrumental examination of the fundus.
Gymnastics for myopia according to Zhdanov
Professor V.G. Zhdanov fully shared Bates' beliefs. Many of his exercises have analogies with those developed by the American.
Here are some of them that children can do to prevent myopia:
- You need to “draw” the wings of a butterfly with your eyes. To do this, you should fix your gaze in the lower left corner, then raise your eyes up 15 cm, draw a line to the right, and then again up 15 cm and then from there draw your gaze to the first point from which the drawing began.
- Make rotational movements with your eyes, imagining that you are winding a rope around a pipe.
Komarovsky about myopia in children
The pediatrician notes that it is almost impossible to make an accurate diagnosis of a child under 3 years of age. During this period, all age categories of children experience +3 diopters or congenital farsightedness, which is associated with the development of the visual apparatus.
We recommend reading: Myopia and farsightedness - differences
If there are fewer diopters before the specified age, the child may be included in the risk group for myopia. To maintain proper development of the visual organs, it is necessary to maintain a daily routine, balance the diet and reduce the child’s viewing of gadgets.
Eye gymnastics for preschool children
For very young children who, due to their age, cannot yet perform the exercises described above, adults can help and practice with them. For example, draw various shapes on large sheets of paper, then move your finger along the outline, and the baby will follow it with his eyes. Invite him to also “circle” with his gaze the outlines of any objects or furniture in the room. Another exercise for training muscles and accommodation is to cut out and paint figures in different colors: a circle, a square, a man, etc., hang them on the wall, and sit the child in front of them. Next, ask him to find with his eyes (without turning his head!) the figures that you will name, for example, a blue circle, a yellow square. This has a good effect on the ability to adjust focus.
Contact lenses must be removed before performing exercises. You should not train for longer than recommended. Excessive strain on the eye muscles can harm the visual organs.
Causes of myopia
Factors provoking the disease are:
- the presence of a disease in one of the parents;
- congenital weakness of the sclera;
- Marfan syndrome;
- hereditary pathologies of the lens;
- congenital glaucoma;
- Down syndrome;
- failure to maintain visual hygiene;
- abnormal use of gadgets;
- rickets;
- injuries during childbirth;
- unbalanced diet;
- damage by infectious pathogens;
- scoliosis;
- flat feet;
- sugar pathology.
The pathology progresses during school years, which is associated with an increased load on the visual apparatus.
Useful video
Timely diagnosis of myopia in a child makes it possible to completely restore the previous level of vision. It is also worth considering that at an early age, all children develop congenital farsightedness of 3 diopters.
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Alexandrova O.M.
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2029
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What is eye gymnastics?
Gymnastics to restore vision is a set of specially selected exercises that are performed sequentially with strict adherence to technique.
The first exercises were invented many centuries ago: the ancient Hindus and Chinese, who developed health complexes for the whole body, did not bypass the eyes.
But modern gymnastic complexes used in traditional medicine appeared thanks to the famous scientist William Bates and his successor Margaret Corbet.
Their effectiveness has been proven by many experiments and scientific studies, but to achieve the best possible results, you need to perform the exercises regularly, take care of the general condition of the whole body and refrain from bad habits.
Myopia and the retina
The retina is a thin layer of nerve tissue that touches one side of the eyeball. It receives light signals from the lens and cornea and redirects them to the brain in the form of nerve impulses.
Myopia, which is not a disease of the retina, is accompanied by an enlargement of the eyeball, which leads to its stretching. The more serious the degree of myopia, the greater the likelihood of retinal diseases - hemorrhage, tumor, rupture, dystrophy, retinitis, etc.
