Ms. Vo Thi Quyen (resident of Tan Son Nhi ward, Ho Chi Minh City) said that recently, she noticed her 8-year-old son frequently winking, squinting and complaining of eye strain. Sometimes, the family also saw that the baby's eyes looked slightly off-center and reflected blurred vision.
According to Ms. Quyen, the baby studies quite a lot and is often exposed to electronic screens during school and extra classes, so the family is worried that the baby's vision will be affected.
The baby goes to school a lot, so before that, the family could not arrange time to take him to the doctor. It was not until the summer vacation that the baby was taken to the hospital for examination," Ms. Quyen shared.
After examination at Ho Chi Minh City Eye Hospital, the baby was diagnosed with strabismus and needed glasses for long-term treatment.
Or the case of baby P.A. T (12 years old, An Phu Dong ward, Ho Chi Minh City) who was taken to the doctor by parents with a misaligned vision compared to normal, the baby often watched TV and electronic devices at home, so eye strain and eye pain appeared.
Through examination and tests, doctors determined that baby T had severe amblyopia and strabismus and needed long-term treatment to get better results.
BS.CKII Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh - Deputy Head of Pediatric Ophthalmology Department, Ho Chi Minh City Eye Hospital - said that the number of children coming for blind examination at the hospital increased sharply in the summer. In addition to congenital causes, many cases are related to refractive errors, living habits and long-term use of electronic devices.
According to Dr. Hanh, many children have symptoms of blurred vision, squinting, blinking, headache or eye strain after school hours, but parents often detect it late. There are many cases that are only taken to the doctor when the child is very lethargic or vision is clearly reduced, causing the treatment process to be prolonged and difficult to fully recover.
Currently, the time children are exposed to phones, tablets, and TVs is increasing, especially during the summer. Close-up vision continuously for a long time causes the eyes to be over-restrained, increasing the risk of refractive errors and affecting strabismus," Dr. Hanh warned.
According to doctors, in cases of strabismus, children will be measured for strabismus, refractive measurements and in-depth vision tests. Many children with amblyopia must be treated in combination with wearing glasses and blindfolding for a long time to restore vision for weak eyes.
Dr. Hanh said that the treatment of strabismus requires close coordination from parents. However, many families are still hesitant to put glasses on their children early or are not persistent in the blindfolding treatment of amblyopia, causing treatment effectiveness to be affected.
Some cases of congenital lechery or severe lechery will be indicated for surgery. However, after surgery, children still need to be re-examined and wear glasses as prescribed to avoid lechery recurrence.
According to records at Ho Chi Minh City Eye Hospital, before summer, the clinic received about 100 patients each morning. During summer vacation, this number can double, even triple, including many cases related to refractive errors and prolonged use of electronic devices.
