The specialists give us their recommendations.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 13% of school-age children suffer from some type of refractive error such as myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism that is not corrected, which causes a deficit in their intellectual, motor and Social. If not treated in the first years of life, the damage to your vision may not be reversible and the best way to correct these errors is through corrective lenses.
Unfortunately, the use of glasses is related to several cases of school bullying, therefore, the use of contact lenses is an option for children of school age.
The spokeswoman for the Optometry Council of Mexico and a degree in optometry Ana Lilia Gabriel Mendoza points out that the adaptation of contact lenses to minors is a delicate process that must be carried out by a Degree in Optometry and with the collaboration of parents. ? For adaptation, a bond of trust must be created between the child and the optometrist to ensure success and that it does not become a traumatic experience. At the beginning, it is normal for the child to be scared with the visual examination, but little by little, and with explanations and games, the examination will be carried out? says the contactology specialist.
The Optometry Degree must know the complete medical history of the child, in addition to his close family history, to evaluate if he is a candidate for contact lenses. Afterward, different assessment tests are carried out, such as the following:
- Visual acuity: these tests depend on the patient’s age and cognitive state. Different types of primers or methods can be used to measure this capacity, such as Lea’s optotypes, Bruckner’s test,? E? directional, Landot test, among others.
- Refraction: by means of conventional, Mohindra or dynamic retinoscopy, the refractive state is assessed.
- Binocular vision: to assess the functional capacity of both eyes.
- Motility: in order to determine if there is an ocular deviation.
- Visual field: using different instruments, the physical space that can be perceived with the naked eye is measured.
- Eye health: this test detects if there is any alteration in the tear film, cornea or conjunctiva that can cause problems with the contact lens.
Finally, in order to see the adaptation to the lenses, in the case of the little ones of school-age and adolescents, mostly and with due care, they put the contact lenses themselves, they wait around 20 minutes for the stabilization of this optical device and the resulting refractive state will be assessed.