Is it okay for babies to have "cross eyes"? The National Health Commission explains common misunderstandings about children's eye health

People's Daily, Beijing, May 31 (Reporter Sun Hongli) Today, the National Health Commission released a Q&A on the core knowledge of eye care for children aged 0 to 6 years old on its official website, answering questions such as how to identify common eye diseases and vision abnormalities in children, and the main measures for early prevention of myopia.

Among them, there are nine common misconceptions about children's eye health among parents:

Myth 1: If your baby’s eyes look bright, there must be nothing wrong.

In children aged 0 to 6, many eye diseases that affect vision appear normal on the surface of the eye, but may actually cause blindness. For example, congenital cataracts located relatively far back, retinopathy of prematurity, congenital glaucoma and other congenital fundus diseases may cause blindness, but there is no abnormality in the external appearance of the eye; amblyopia, high hyperopia, astigmatism and anisometropia may appear normal on the outside of the eye, but may require treatment.

Misconception 2: It’s okay for babies to have crossed eyes, they will be fine when they grow up.

People often say "crossed eyes" is medically called "esotropia". There are true and false esotropia in infants and young children. False esotropia is caused by the baby's nasal bones not fully developed, the nose bridge is wide and flat, and it just looks like esotropia. This false "crossed eyes" will gradually improve in appearance as the baby grows older, and the "crossed eyes" will disappear naturally.

Some "crossed eyes" are actually esotropia. Esotropia is a common eye disease in children. It will affect the baby's visual development and the development of stereoscopic vision, limiting the choice of career when growing up. It needs to be treated as soon as possible.

Once parents discover that their baby has "crossed eyes", they should take the baby to a professional ophthalmologist for examination in time to determine whether it is true esotropia. Do not blindly wait for the baby to improve naturally and delay the child's treatment.

Misconception 3: A child with poor eyesight is nearsighted.

There are many reasons for children's vision abnormalities, and myopia is just one of them. Myopia is less common in children under 6 years old, while vision abnormalities caused by hyperopia and astigmatism are more common. In addition, other eye diseases, such as amblyopia and fundus diseases, can also affect vision.

Therefore, if you find that your child has poor eyesight, you should do further detailed examinations to determine the cause of the vision problems before you can give targeted treatment and eye guidance. For example, if you have myopia, you should limit the time you use your eyes at close range, and if you have amblyopia caused by hyperopia, you need to use your eyes more often to promote recovery.

Myth 4: Don’t worry if your child has poor eyesight, it will get better when they grow up.

If the child's vision is abnormal during the examination, parents must pay attention to it. The period before the age of 6 is a critical period for children's visual development. If during this period, the child has eye abnormalities such as strabismus, hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, congenital cataracts, and severe ptosis, they can all show poor vision, which may affect the child's visual development and cause amblyopia, resulting in the child's vision not returning to normal even when wearing glasses when he grows up. Therefore, children with poor vision should be corrected in time and their vision development should be actively promoted to avoid the formation of amblyopia.

Myth 5: Mydriatic drugs are harmful to children’s eyes.

When doctors find that children have poor eyesight, they will recommend dilation of the pupil for an optometry test. Because children's eyes have a particularly strong ability to adjust, if the pupil is not dilated for an optometry test, a normal eye will often appear myopic, or a highly hyperopic eye will appear to have a reduced degree of hyperopia, affecting the accuracy of optometry and the effectiveness of treatment.

Mydriatic drugs can relax the accommodative power, accurately check the degree of myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism, and determine whether glasses are needed for correction, so mydriatic eye examination for children is very necessary.

Correct use of mydriasis drugs is harmless to the eyes and body. The blurred near vision and photophobia that appear for a short time after mydriasis will naturally recover as the drug is metabolized. Parents do not need to worry and should not refuse mydriasis and astigmatism examinations, missing the best correction period for their children and delaying and affecting their children's normal visual development.

Myth 6: Children should not wear glasses because they cannot take them off once they put them on.

If a child has problems such as myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, etc., they may need to wear glasses for correction after being diagnosed by a doctor. The role of glasses is to help children solve the defects of eye focusing, enable children to see clearly, promote visual development, and alleviate the progression of myopia. Glasses are optical correction for children's eyes.

Whether the child can take off the glasses depends on the type and severity of the child's eye disease. Moderate hyperopia will be alleviated with age, so it is possible to take off the glasses; astigmatism and myopia generally cannot be removed. It is necessary to wait until the child's vision develops steadily around the age of 18, at which time the glasses can be removed through laser surgery.

If a child has severe refractive errors, especially when combined with strabismus and amblyopia, and the parents are unwilling to let their children wear glasses for correction, treatment will be delayed, and in severe cases, it will affect the child's visual development.

Myth 7: The longer you wear myopia glasses, the higher the degree will be.

The degree of myopia in children often increases every year, and parents often think that it is caused by wearing glasses. In fact, this is determined by the characteristics of the development of myopia in children. Myopia in children often occurs at around 10 years old, and there is a trend of younger age, generally stopping at around 18 years old. The younger the age of onset of myopia in children, the higher the degree of myopia in adulthood.

The progression of myopia is related to age and eye habits. Scientifically wearing glasses can slow down the progression of myopia. If a child is myopic and it affects his study and life, he should go to a medical institution for mydriasis refraction and accurate glasses.

Misconception 8: Myopia is caused by improper use of eyes.

Myopia is divided into simple myopia and pathological myopia. Simple myopia is usually less than 600 degrees and is the result of the combined influence of factors such as genetics or eye habits.

Pathological myopia often exceeds 600 degrees, accompanied by fundus retinal lesions, mainly due to genetic factors. Genetic factors cannot be changed. If parents have myopia, they should pay special attention to the baby's visual development and insist on taking the baby for regular eye examinations for early detection and early treatment. Help children develop good eye habits, watch less electronic video products, and reduce long-term close-up eye use such as reading and writing, and do more outdoor activities to slow down the progression of myopia as much as possible.

Misconception 9: Children can just go to an optical shop to have their eyes tested for glasses.

Children must undergo mydriasis refraction before wearing glasses. Children under 6 years old must use 1% atropine to dilate their pupils when wearing glasses for the first time. Mydriasis refraction should be performed in a professional medical institution.

In addition to myopia, children's poor vision also includes hyperopia, astigmatism, and the possibility of combined amblyopia. Other eye diseases may also affect vision. Therefore, take your child to a professional medical institution for examination by an ophthalmologist and professional medical optometry to give the correct prescription before wearing glasses.