Prevention of visual impairment in children

It's common to meet a child wearing glasses, many do not even pay attention to it.But doctors literally "beat the alarm" - vision problems occur in early childhood, the number of diagnosed strabismus, myopia, astigmatism is simply incredible.Naturally, parents are concerned about such statistics and are trying to take some measures to prevent visual impairment.Such activities should be conducted correctly and only after consultation with an ophthalmologist.

Table of contents: Visit to the doctor for preventive examinations Preventive measures for the preservation and improvement of vision in children

Visit to the doctor for preventive examinations

In order to timely identify problems with vision, parents should regularly bring their baby to the ophthalmologist . For the first time a specialist examines a newborn in the hospital, then the child should visit an ophthalmologist at the age of 1-3 months .A visit to an ophthalmologist at this age is an "obligatory program", a specialist will be able to identify congenital problems with vision, and in some cases - make predictions for the development of myopia and / or farsightedness in the future.

If at the first preventive examination of the child there are no abnormalities in the development of the visual organs, then additional visits to the medical institution are not necessary, and the next visit of the ophthalmologist should be at the age of three years of the baby. At an older age, children undergo prophylactic examinations with an ophthalmologist only in the framework of regular medical examinations.

Preventive measures for preservation and improvement of vision in children

Even if the examination of the ophthalmologist did not reveal any visual impairment in the child, parents should understand that only preventive measures will help to keep the kid's eyes healthy.Prevention of visual impairment in children implies the use of complex measures, moreover, none of the "components" can not be excluded.

Products useful for sight

The menu should be diverse.The child must, together with the products, receive the necessary amount of vitamins and microelements.But it is equally important to make a menu that will "work" and preserve the vision of the child. Specialists recommend the following products to be included in the diet:

1. Carrots. This vegetable is rich in various vitamins and trace elements, but in this case, vitamin A, which is really very much in carrots, becomes especially important.This root vegetable contains carotene, which helps maintain visual acuity. Parents should take into account that carotene belongs to fat-soluble elements, so it will be advisable to offer a toddler a carrot salad with sour cream( the vegetable is rubbed on a shallow grater ).Carrots can be served to the baby in the form of freshly prepared juice, the best option is to add juice to it from the green of parsley, but not every child will want to drink such a cocktail - he still has a specific taste.
2. Blueberries. This berry contains vitamins C and B1, lutein - these elements are able to maintain visual acuity.Parents should take into account that blueberries can be offered to a child from the age of two.By the way, blueberries preserve their useful properties both in frozen form and after cooking jam.
3. Spinach .This vegetable is rarely introduced into the baby's diet, and completely in vain!If you offer spinach to a baby with 3 years, it will help reduce the risk of developing various eye diseases by 10%.Spinach can be added to the omelet, to offer this vegetable in combination with a meat dish - in general, it is quite realistic to interest a baby in the use of this useful vegetable.
4. Curd .This product is introduced into the baby's diet from 6-8 months, it contains riboflavin, vitamin B2 and cyanocobalamin.These elements are able to improve blood flow to the eyes and support their functionality.
5. Pumpkin. It is rich in vitamins C, B1, A, B2, zinc, and these elements retain useful properties even during heat treatment.A child can be offered a pumpkin at the age of 6-7 months in the form of soups, cereals and desserts.The simplest thing is to introduce a pumpkin juice into the kid's diet, which is both delicious and healthy.Fish and fish oil.
6. . Earlier, the use of fish oil in kindergartens and schools( primary classes) was an obligatory procedure.And it was not a simple whim of doctors or scientists - fish oil does have a mass of useful properties, one of which is the prevention of degenerative processes in the organs of vision.Modern pediatrics insists on introducing into the diet of the baby those types of fish that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids - for example, sardine, mackerel, herring, and the leader in this list is salmon.

In addition, for the prevention of visual impairment in children will be useful and fruits - kiwi, peaches, grapes, apples and other .It is quite difficult to single out something concrete from a group of fruits - in principle, they all have a beneficial effect on visual acuity to some extent.Doctors recommend giving preference to fruits of green and orange, if we consider them only in the context of prevention of vision impairment.

Note: for saving / strengthening the eyes of the child in the menu you need to enter eggs, broccoli, green peppers.But first you need to consult a pediatrician and find out how safe these products will be for the overall health of the baby - they can cause an allergic reaction.

Special exercises for vision improvement

Prevention of visual impairment in children is not only the regular visits of an ophthalmologist for the timely diagnosis of problems and the compilation of a useful menu. Doctors say that the best option is gymnastics for the eyes. These exercises are very simple, they are quite feasible to perform at home, but you need to monitor the regularity and correctness of the child's actions.

№1

The kid should move his eyes horizontally - first to the left, fix this position for 5 seconds( let him count it out loud), then move his eyes to the right and also fix this position.Then the look moves forward, and the eyes are closed.This exercise should be repeated 4 times in a row, but the pace should not be fast.

№2

We suggest that the child move his eyes vertically - look up and fix it in this position for 5 seconds, then look down and also delay it.The exercise ends by moving the look forward, after which you need to close your eyes for 2-3 seconds.This exercise is repeated 4 times.

No. 3

You need to show the child how you can skew your eyes - let him look at the tip of his nose and hold him in this position for 15-20 seconds.Then, without looking at the eyes, the child should close his eyes and rest for 10 seconds. Repeat this exercise 3 times in a row, but with obligatory resting honey to them.

№4

An excellent exercise to prevent visual impairment in children - to close your eyes and open your eyes as wide as possible.Repeat the exercise 4 times in a row.

Finish the complex of gymnastics for the eyes to quickly blink for 30 seconds.

Please note: ophthalmologists recommend to hold such a complex of gymnastics for the eyes at least 3 times a day.If the child draws, reads a book or watches a cartoon film, then every 20-30 minutes, it is necessary to interrupt the activity and carry out the above exercises.

To prevent the visual impairment of children in full, parents must remember a few important rules:

1. The child's workplace should be well lit - it does not matter whether the lessons are made by a schoolboy, sculpts a figurine from a plasticine baby.An excellent choice will be daylight lamps, which are available in the form of lamps with movable stands - they can be sent directly to the place where the child's vision is focused.
2. It is necessary to strictly dose the eye strain.Do not allow the child to sit for a long time behind the book, watch television programs, draw or perform all school assignments "at one sitting."It is recommended to take breaks in classes every 30-40 minutes.
3. It is necessary to protect the eyes from the sun.This does not mean that the child can not be outdoors in sunny weather, you just need to put sunglasses on him or, if the age is too small, put on a panama / cap with wide margins / visor.

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Prevention of visual impairment in children is the work of parents.Doctors can only give appropriate recommendations.

Tsygankova Yana Aleksandrovna, medical reviewer, therapist of the highest qualification category