Watching videos, playing mobile games, surfing the Internet, be wary of children suffering from dry eyes during summer

　　Watching videos, playing mobile games, surfing the Internet 　　 be

　　wary of children suffering from dry eye in summer

　　Remind you

　　Recently, elementary and middle school students across the country have started the summer vacation mode.

The children are on vacation, but the children’s eyes are more "busy". Reading, watching TV, watching mobile phones... This has also led to the red light on the health of some children's eyes.

　　"In July, the number of children with dry eye in the ophthalmology clinic suddenly increased. Today, the group of patients with dry eye is expanding from adults to school-age children, and pediatric patients account for nearly 1/3 of the outpatient clinics." Heilongjiang Provincial Medical Association Professor Zhou Dan, member of the Pediatric Ophthalmology Group, a master's tutor and professor at Harbin Medical University, told a reporter from Science and Technology Daily.

　　Dry eye is common in adults, why is it "staring" at children?

　　Dry eye is no longer a "patent" for adults

　　Dry eye syndrome is also called keratoconjunctival sicca. It is due to insufficient tear secretion, excessive tear evaporation, abnormal tear composition and other factors, resulting in decreased stability of the tear film, and ocular discomfort and ocular surface lesions. .

The typical symptoms of dry eye include dry eyes, fatigue, foreign body sensation, photophobia, wind, stinging, eye itching, burning sensation, soreness, etc. In severe cases, eyelid swelling, conjunctival congestion, and edema may occur. Corneal epithelium falls off, and even corneal ulcers and infections can cause difficulty in opening eyes and decreased vision.

　　Zhou Dan said that the traditional concept believes that dry eye is more common in people over the age of 40. There is more clinical concern about dry eye in adults, but it is often overlooked that children can also be affected by dry eye.

　　In fact, due to improper use of eyes in children, coupled with their weak expression ability, poor examination coordination, and people's insufficient understanding of the pathogenic factors of child dry eye, more and more children nowadays have symptoms similar to adult dry eye. Clinical manifestations.

Some children also have symptoms such as eye pain and itching, redness and swelling, and even vision fluctuations, which are very similar to the symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis, and are prone to misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis.

　　Picky eaters, lack of sleep, and improper use of eyes are all predisposing factors

　　Zhou Dan pointed out that in addition to improper use of eyes, picky eaters and partial eclipses in children are also one of the predisposing factors for dry eye.

For example, a child's partial eclipse may lead to a lack of vitamin A in his body, and this vitamin is the main nutrient that maintains the normal metabolism of the human epithelial tissue and can prevent the cornea from drying and degenerating, thus lacking vitamin A or indirectly contributing to dry eye syndrome.

At the same time, children with heavy learning tasks, long-term wear of contact lenses, and long-term lack of sleep can destroy the foundation of the tear film and induce dry eye.

　　What needs to be emphasized is that with the rapid development of the information society, the "tentacles" of video terminals have already extended to homes and schools. Children spend significantly more time watching TV, playing game consoles, watching cartoons and surfing the Internet at home; Among them, projectors and various display screens are widely used in children's teaching.

If the lighting intensity of these devices is insufficient or too strong, and the screen design is unreasonable, it may cause the child to suffer from the video terminal syndrome (VDT syndrome) and cause discomfort to the eyes.

　　Zhou Dan explained that children with VDT syndrome may also have dry eye, because their blinking habits have been changed.

Studies have shown that when people are talking, the average blink frequency is 15.5 times per minute, while when using electronic products attentively, the average blink frequency drops sharply, which induces tears to evaporate too quickly, leaving the eyes in a "dried" state .

　　To prevent and cure dry eye in children, remember these essentials

　　What is gratifying is that the level of diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases in my country has been rapidly improved in recent years.

With the formulation and widespread promotion of the "Consensus of Dry Eye Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment Experts", ophthalmologists at all levels have gradually realized the hazards of dry eye in children. Pediatric ophthalmologists have begun to pay attention to the hotspots and difficulties in this field. Ophthalmopathy is listed as the content of the seminar.

　　Nevertheless, there are still many clinical shortcomings in the treatment of children’s dry eye: First of all, a small number of doctors are not aware of the existence and severity of children’s dry eye, and lack relevant knowledge in the treatment of children’s dry eye. Diagnose and treat as conjunctival infection, allergy or keratitis; secondly, many children with non-dry eye are misdiagnosed as dry eye and are given over-treatment; finally, so far, there is no scientific research data on children's tear film and ocular surface in China. Therefore, it is difficult to develop diagnostic criteria for dry eye in children.

　　For the prevention and treatment of dry eye in children, Zhou Dan gives the following suggestions:

　　First, we must strengthen publicity and education, so that parents and teachers can increase their understanding of children’s dry eye, understand and master the basic symptoms of the disease, and send them to the doctor in time if there is a problem with the child.

Second, we must improve the learning and living environment. The light in classrooms and rooms should be kept sufficient to avoid too strong or weak light; the environment should be clean and tidy, and try to eliminate the interference of dust, oil fume and pollen on the eyes.

Third, you must use your eyes reasonably, develop good eye-using habits, take regular breaks, and the time of continuous reading and writing should not be too long, and try to look far away to relax your eyes.

Fourth, avoid prolonged contact with video terminal equipment.

　　At the same time, Zhou Dan said that you should drink more water in your daily diet and eat more foods rich in vitamin A, lutein, and anthocyanins, such as eggs, liver, carrots, tomatoes, pumpkins, spinach, blueberries, mulberries, etc. Eating a balanced diet and eating more fresh fruits and vegetables can help improve the symptoms of dry eyes.

　　Finally, Zhou Dan reminded that children should consult a doctor promptly if their eyes are uncomfortable, and do not use eye drops without authorization to avoid long-term dependence.

Most eye drops contain preservatives, which can impair the function of the tear film of the eyes, which in turn will promote the occurrence of dry eye.

If the condition requires, artificial tears such as sodium hyaluronate and other eye drops can be used to relieve the symptoms of discomfort, but the number of instillation of eye drops should not exceed 3 times a day, and the continuous use time should not exceed half a month.