Popular Science | If a child has myopia in only one eye, does he need to not wear glasses?

"My child has normal vision in one eye and myopia in the other eye, but he says he can see the blackboard clearly. Does he need to wear glasses?" I believe many parents have this doubt.

Here, the editor directly announces the answer: NO! You must wear glasses to correct your vision !!!

What is anisometropia?

Why do the degrees of myopia or astigmatism in the two eyes differ when we see things with both eyes? In fact, during the development of our eyes, there are certain differences in the refractive state of most people's eyes . What's more, one eye may be myopic and the other may not be myopic. In ophthalmology, the phenomenon of "inconsistent refractive state of the two eyes" is called anisometropia . In fact, most myopic people have more or less anisometropia, but most of them have little difference in the degree of binocular vision, no obvious symptoms, and no impact on eye health. It is physiological anisometropia. However, when the difference in the amount of anisometropia is 250 degrees, it is considered pathological anisometropia and must be paid attention to. Usually, our two eyes work together, not separately. Just like walking on two legs, if one leg is longer than the other, you may walk with a limp. A large difference in degree will also make it difficult for the binocular fusion to cause many problems.

What effects does anisometropia have on the eyes?

1. More prone to visual fatigue

The large difference in the degree of vision between the two eyes can easily lead to consequences such as visual fatigue, dry eyes, tearing, headache, nausea, dizziness, etc., and there may be deviations in judging distances and angles.

2. The poor eye's vision declines faster

There is a principle when using eyes - "use it or lose it", that is, the good eye should be used frequently, and the bad eye should be gradually stopped from being used. In this way, the eye with poor vision will experience a phenomenon of myopia increasing rapidly and vision decreasing rapidly.

3. Can cause monocular amblyopia

When a child has anisometropia in both eyes, the eye with smaller refractive power can see things more clearly, while the eye with larger refractive power cannot see things clearly, and the brain cannot fuse the two images with different clarity into one. At this time, the brain will command the eye with smaller refractive power to work, and inhibit the eye with larger refractive power from working. Over time, the eye with larger refractive power will develop into amblyopia .

4. Can cause monocular strabismus

When the brain cannot fuse two images of different clarity into one, it actively suppresses the visual development of the eye with poorer vision . If one eye is "blind" for a long time, the child may lose stereoscopic vision. If effective treatment is not carried out, the poorer eye may develop strabismus over time.

What should I do if I have anisometropia?

The most common and simple way to correct anisometropia is to fit glasses . Children have greater adaptability and plasticity, and can accept frame glasses better. If the difference in the degree of the two eyes is too large, the size of the frame glasses image cannot be integrated in the brain, and the patient will not tolerate the frame glasses. At this time, you can consider using orthokeratology lenses (OK lenses) to correct it. Orthokeratology lenses are contact lenses, which are worn on the surface of the cornea. Therefore, the size of their images is close to that of emmetropia, and no prism effect will be produced when the eyeballs rotate. Therefore, orthokeratology lenses can correct medium and high refractive anisometropia. In addition, for children with anisometropia , binocular visual function training and occlusion therapy are generally required to prevent the development of strabismus and amblyopia. Aier Eye Hospital reminds : Parents should take their children to professional ophthalmic medical institutions for vision examinations regularly and establish refractive development files as early as possible, so as to achieve early detection, early prevention, and early treatment of possible eye health problems in the future, so that children can spend a healthy and happy childhood.