Patient Minh Anh (character name changed, 8 years old, Tay Ninh) was taken by her family for examination after cutting new glasses at a nearby store but still could not see clearly and often had eye pain. At the hospital, doctors discovered that the baby's glasses were 2 degrees heavier than the actual nearsightedness. Specifically, each pair of glasses weighed 3.5 degrees and Minh Anh had been wearing this condition for about 2 weeks.
BS.CKI Nguyen Duc Huy, Center for High-Tech Eyes, Tam Anh General Hospital HCMC (Campus 2), said that when coming for examination, the baby complained of eye strain, squinting and dizziness. To have the most accurate vision measurement results, the doctor prescribed eye drops to dilate the pupils and temporarily paralyze the eyelid body (regulatory paralyze). The results recorded that the left eye was only nearsighted at 1.5 degrees and the right eye was nearsighted at 2 degrees, lower than 1.5 - 2 degrees compared to the glasses being used. This is the direct cause of discomfort for children.
After being prescribed to cut back the glasses according to the actual parameters, Minh Anh re-examined after a week. Currently, the baby's vision is stable at 10/10 when wearing glasses, the symptoms of eye pain and dizziness completely disappear.
According to Dr. Huy, the situation of patients wearing glasses that are not suitable for refractive errors (near, far, disordered) is currently quite common. The causes are often due to patients self-diagnosing the disease, buying glasses themselves when they see them wearing them to see more clearly, or only cutting glasses at facilities without an ophthalmologist. In particular, many children are not examined in-depth, causing the refractive measurement process at unprofessional facilities to be distorted.
Refraction measurement in children is more complicated than in adults due to the very strong regulation ability of children's eyes. This process requires the performer to have expertise and needs to use paralytic medicine for regulation. This type of medicine helps eliminate the natural regulation ability of the eyes, helping to accurately determine the actual refractiveness. The medicine usually works after 45-60 minutes and is only allowed to be used at medical facilities with ophthalmology specialists. In addition, not having regular check-ups when the nearsightedness changes also makes old glasses inappropriate.
Wearing glasses in the wrong size not only causes fatigue and loss of concentration, but if prolonged, the eye must be continuously regulated, leading to increased rapidity, vision impairment or even amblyopia (lazy eyes).
Children wearing glasses in the wrong size are often difficult to detect on their own. Parents need to pay attention if children have signs such as: blurred vision, dizziness, headache, squinting, bowing when studying or watching TV, or tilting their heads and sitting in the wrong posture. When detecting these signs, it is necessary to take children to specialized hospitals for timely check-ups.
Dr. Huy recommends that parents should have their children have regular eye exams every 6 to 12 months to control nearsightedness, ensure children wear glasses to the right degree and screen for eye diseases early.
