How To Detect Astigmatism In Children?

Astigmatism in children is a very common vision defect. In fact, it  affects nearly 15% of the entire population,  with most cases starting in childhood or adolescence.

This is because astigmatism has a certain hereditary component. This information can help guide the diagnosis, as they are also often associated with other visual disorders, such as myopia, which has a familial inheritance.

The problem is that if astigmatism in children is not detected early, it can significantly affect their school performance. So, in this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know about the problem and how it’s diagnosed.

What is Astigmatism in Children?

Astigmatism is a refractive error, as are nearsightedness and farsightedness. Refractive errors are changes at the eye level that prevent the eye from properly focusing light rays on the retina. The result of this is blurred vision.

In the case of astigmatism, the difficulty occurs when trying to focus on an object that is at any distance. In other words, far and near vision are affected equally.

The main difference in relation to myopia is that, in this case, what deteriorates is the vision of objects that are far away. In turn, in farsightedness, the defect occurs with near vision. It is important to know how to distinguish them because each one is corrected in a different way.

What Causes Astigmatism in Children?

Astigmatism in children, as we’ve already mentioned,  often has a hereditary component. In other words, it is much more frequent when one or both parents also suffer from it. However, there are also cases in children without a family history, as the genetic condition is not essential.

The eye of an astigmatic child has a flatter cornea than normal. This anterior eyeball lens is one of the optics in the eye that allows light rays to fall on the retina. Its normal shape is concave.

Because it is flat, the rays do not project onto the retina, but in front or a little behind. On occasion, the shape of the lens also changes, in addition to the cornea.

The types of the disease

Astigmatism in children can be of different types, depending on whether or not it is associated with other refractive errors. To understand it, it is first necessary to explain what the ocular meridians are. If we look at the eye from the front, a meridian divides the eyeball from top to bottom. The other does this from left to right.

First of all, we have myopic astigmatism. In this case,  one or both of the eye meridians focus like a nearsighted eye. On the other hand, astigmatism in children can be hyperopic. In this case, the eye focuses poorly at short distances. Finally, astigmatism can be mixed by combining defects from the previous two.

What are the symptoms of astigmatism in children?

To detect childhood astigmatism, it is important to pay attention to the symptoms. It is a little more complex to suspect than nearsightedness or farsightedness, in which the signs are more obvious and immediately complicate school performance.

One of the most frequent symptoms is school delay. The child may appear inattentive or distracted, perhaps even hyperactive. However, the lack of concentration comes from the inability to focus on the letters in the books or the blackboard during class.

These children tend to have frequent headaches and squint their eyes trying to focus. Another typical gesture is to tilt your head to see better. This causes them to have red eyes or an itchy feeling from overexertion.

The low interest in reading they show comes from visual difficulties, not from another source. When reading aloud, some tend to skip entire lines of text or change syllables.

How is it diagnosed?

To diagnose astigmatism in children, in addition to observing all the symptoms, it is essential that the child sees an ophthalmologist. There, she will undergo an eye exam and a series of complementary methods and tests that will help address the initial suspicion.

Ophthalmologists, in an eye exam, often use different lenses to assess all aspects of vision. Once astigmatism is established,  the child will likely need glasses or contact lenses. However, this must be decided on a case-by-case basis.

What we must remember is that astigmatism in children affects their education. That’s why it’s important to be aware of symptoms, such as the way a child reads or suffers from headaches. The detection task is the responsibility of parents and educators, who are the people who spend the most time with children.