Minus eyes can happen to anyone, including children. Not infrequently, minus eye is difficult to detect or disguised with other conditions in children. Even though minus eyes can interfere with your little one's activities, especially in their learning activities.
Minus eye or nearsightedness is an eye health disorder that causes children to be unable to see distant objects clearly. Minus eyes in children are known to be related to several factors, such as heredity, the habit of reading books too closely, or the habit of using gadgets for a long time.
Symptoms of Minus Eyes in Children
Some children may not complain or are not aware of the disturbance due to the minus eye they experience. Therefore, it is parents or caregivers at home who need to pay attention to the symptoms of minus eye in children, in order to immediately get the right treatment.
Some of the symptoms that indicate a child has minus eyes, namely:
- Difficulty seeing distant objects.
- Often misread the writing on the blackboard or that is far away.
- Watching TV or reading a book at a very close distance.
- Sensitive to light.
- Avoid games that require attention to detail, such as coloring and playing puzzle
In some children, minus eyes are also accompanied by symptoms of fatigue, headaches and eye strain. If you find these symptoms in children, parents should immediately check the child's condition to an eye doctor.
After confirming that the child has minus eye, the doctor will provide appropriate treatment. Generally, doctors will prescribe glasses for children, so they can see distant objects more clearly.
What to Do If Your Little One Has Minus Eyes?
In addition to using the right glasses, Mom and Dad can also help your little one to prevent minus growth in the child's eyes in several ways, such as:
1. Provide nutritious food
Providing children with nutritious food is very important to maintain their health, including eye health. Some food choices that are beneficial for maintaining eye health in children are carrots, green vegetables, and fruits that taste sour, such as oranges and lemons.
In addition, don't forget to give fish that are rich in omega 3, such as mackerel and sardines.
2. Make sure there is enough lighting when doing activities
Don't forget to make sure your little one gets enough light in every activity he does, Bun. It is also useful to prevent the minus eye of the Little One from increasing.
3. Get used to using glasses outdoors
If possible, Mother and Father can also get used to the Little One to use glasses with protection from UV rays. These glasses are able to protect children's eyes from sun exposure while reducing the risk of developing eye minus.
4. Limit use gadgets
Besides being able to increase the risk of children experiencing obesity and insomnia, using gadgets in a long time is also not good for eye health. Use gadgets not even at all recommended for children under 18 months, except for video chat with parents or family.
To prevent the minus in the child's eyes from increasing, limit the use of gadgets in children aged 2-5 years, a maximum of one hour per day. As for children aged over 6 years, limit the use of gadgets to a maximum of 2 hours per day.
5. Teach children eye exercise
If possible, parents can also teach children to do eye exercise movements. This exercise is useful for preventing the child's eye minus from increasing.
The trick, put the pencil in front of the little one's face. Ask him to keep his eyes on the pencil, and don't move his head. After that, slowly move the pencil left and right, up and down.
It is important for parents to recognize the symptoms of minus eye in children, so that this disorder can be treated early on. Do some of the ways above so that minus eyes in children do not get worse.
If your child's vision is getting disturbed or blurry, immediately consult an ophthalmologist, to anticipate more serious eye disorders. Especially if he experienced sudden visual disturbances.
