Keen vision meaning. What is visual acuity? Possible consequences and prognosis of treatment

Visual acuity is one of the most important characteristics of the human visual analyzer. This characteristic reflects the sensitivity of the eye, as well as its ability to determine details in visible objects.

Visual acuity 1.0

In this article, we tried to take a more detailed look at how to determine visual acuity and looked at how it is measured.

Visual acuity indicators

The optimal indicator is 100% visual acuity. This is the ability to distinguish between two points distant from each other, the angular resolution of which is equal to one minute, which corresponds to 1/60 of a degree. In simple terms, visual acuity is a qualitative indicator of the vigilance of human eyes, allowing one to measure in numbers how clearly a person sees the world around him.

Normal vision in Russia is considered equal to 1.0. Visual acuity is determined using special tables that depict optotypes, letters or special icons that the person undergoing the test must see. Many people do not understand where the number 1.0 comes from. This figure is determined using a specially designed scheme, which looks like this: V=d/D. Experts use the letter V to denote visual acuity. The letter d is the distance at which the test is carried out. The letter D is the distance from which an eye with normal vision sees a certain row on the measurement table.

Methods for studying visual acuity

Many experts argue that you need to regularly undergo studies to determine visual acuity (visometry). Timely detected indicators of a decrease in this function of the human eye make it possible to timely select certain corrective measures. The traditional method for determining eye vigilance is the use of special tables. In the check table, the signs (optotypes) are arranged in a certain order. These can be letters, symbols, shapes, numbers, lines, and drawings.

Each optotide occupies a visual angle of 5 minutes. Individual details of the sign are covered by a viewing angle of 1 minute. There are also universal tables with optotypes, which depict open circles of various diameters. These tables were named “Landolt rings” after the inventor.

If a person undergoes a study on this table, then he is asked to determine in which direction the gap on the ring is directed. In our country, Sivtsev or Golovin tables are most often used to check visual acuity. They use the standard 7 letters: Sh, B, M, N, K, Y, I. In the research process, the distance to the table is also an important factor. It is about 5 meters. Before each line, the distance from which a healthy eye sees a certain symbol is indicated.


Standard vision test chart

Dividing the distance from which a person sees a certain symbol by the table value of a healthy eye, we obtain the level of visual acuity. A healthy eye sees the first line in the table at a distance of 50 meters. The visual acuity of the eye (Visus) that sees only the first line will be equal to 0.1. With each row of the table, one tenth must be added to this value. Thus, the tenth line will correspond to visual acuity, which is equal to 1.0. The exception is the eleventh (1.5) and twelfth line (2.0).

When determining visual acuity, you also need to know about the following features:

  1. Maintain lighting level (700 lux).
  2. The right eye is examined first, and then the left.
  3. The eye must be covered using a special shutter. In this case, physical impact should be avoided.
  4. In lines 1-3, errors in determining the sign are not allowed. From lines 4 to 6, one error is allowed. From lines 7 to 10, two errors are made.
  5. The duration of viewing each sign should not exceed 3 seconds.

A more high-tech and modern method of verification can be considered the use of an optotype projector. Projectors provide clear images of symbols and make it possible to move away from the mandatory distance of 5 meters.

Types of pathologies

Here is a list of the main pathological changes that lead to deterioration in the quality of vision:

  • (hypermetropia) – with an accelerated ocular axis, the image is formed behind the retina;
  • (myopia) – the image is formed in front of the retina;
  • – violations of the sphericity of the cornea;
  • changes in visual acuity in adults.

Age-related changes in the eye include::

  • presbyopia - the lens partially loses its elasticity, is not able to change the sphericity of its surface, since the ligaments lose their flexibility, and the lens itself becomes significantly denser;
  • – disturbances in the nutrition of the lens, a decrease in its transparency;
  • – increased intraocular pressure with damage to the optic nerve.

If you have presbyopia, you will have to increase the dioptres in your glasses as you age. With cataracts, restoration of normal eye functions will only be possible with surgical intervention. In the presence of glaucoma, intraocular pressure is normalized using medication, laser or surgery.

In fact, you can talk for a long time about visual acuity in numbers and medical terms. However, it is much clearer to explain this category using real-life examples. This will help you navigate your visual acuity indicators much faster.


Features of visual acuity

If the vision index is 1.0, a person can easily see the numbers and letters of a license plate from 40 meters if there is enough light. If visual acuity is less, then the distance from which a person will see clear, non-blurring symbols will be less. If visual acuity is 0.4, then the number will be clearly readable only from 16 meters, and as the distance increases, the characters will become fuzzy and gradually merge into an indistinguishable spot.

When visual acuity is 1.0, a person sees the upper letters of the test table from a 50-meter distance. With visual acuity of 0.1, a person needs to move only 5 meters away from the table.

Improved vision

To maintain visual acuity at the proper level, you should take all measures that will help maintain eye vigilance:

  1. Provide the body with sufficient amounts of vitamin A.
  2. Organize comfortable and convenient lighting in the workplace.
  3. Choose the right color scheme for the environment in places of long stay.
  4. Give up bad habits that significantly impair vision.
  5. Carry out timely correction of visual acuity.

Now you know exactly what visual acuity is and how it is determined. To maintain visual acuity for a long time, follow a proper diet and exercise regularly. We hope this information was useful and interesting.

Canadian ophthalmologist Garth Webb made a sensational announcement about his invention of a device that can permanently solve the problem of poor vision. We are talking about Ocumetics Bionic Lens, which are implanted into the eyes and can provide visual acuity 3 times greater than the vision of a person with normal (healthy) eyes. Moreover, as the inventor assures, such vision will remain unchanged until the end of the life of the operated person.

Dr. Garth Webb is the founder and CEO of Ocumetics Technology Corp, a company created to eliminate glasses and contact lenses from everyday life. Dr. Webb and his collaborators spent 3 million US dollars and 8 years of research to develop the Ocumetics Bionic Lens.

The bionic lens may look like a small, clear button, but Dr. Webb says it could revolutionize eye care and treatment. “Excellent vision should become an inalienable human right,” the oculist-inventor is convinced.

The bionic lenses are expected to be implanted into the eyes during a painless 8-minute operation. This operation is very similar to cataract surgery, during which the clouded lens is replaced with an artificial intraocular lens. This microsurgical procedure does not even require pain relief or bed rest for the patient.

If you are interested, you can watch a short 4-minute video about cataract surgery:

A bionic lens, twisted into a tube, is inserted into the eye in exactly the same way using a syringe filled with saline solution. Then, within about 10 seconds, the Ocumetics Bionic Lens unfurls on its own, acquiring the desired shape, and, lo and behold! – a person’s vision becomes sharp and clear again!

According to Dr. Webb, if a person could clearly see a wall clock from a distance of 3 meters, then after installing bionic lenses, he will be able to clearly see the same clock from a distance of 9 meters.

From the above it follows that Ocumetics Bionic Lens, installed on a person with good (100%) vision, gives him the opportunity to see 3 times better!

While Garth Webb has not yet revealed all the secrets of his invention, he already has a whole list of patents on his hands to improve the characteristics of intraocular lenses.

How Ocumetics Bionic Lenses are made and work we can only guess at this point, but Webb assures that these lenses are extremely safe and cannot cause any biophysical changes in the eye.

Moreover, in addition to extremely sharp vision, Ocumetics Bionic Lens provide another important advantage to the person in whom they are implanted. With such lenses, a person is no longer at risk of cataracts, since natural lenses, which are prone to clouding in old age, are replaced by artificial bionic lenses.

Ocumetics Bionic Lens surgery is much safer than laser vision correction (LASIK), which burns away some healthy corneal tissue and is often associated with negative side effects (such as photophobia and vision problems while driving at night) and significant limitations in lifting. heavy weights and during sports. Dr. Webb is confident that his invention does not have these problems, and a person’s vision with bionic lenses will always remain sharp and will not deteriorate over time.

Garth Webb has already demonstrated his bionic lenses to 14 top eye surgeons during the annual global cataract and refractive surgery conference in San Diego. Webb's colleagues were impressed by this invention and some of them even agreed to help further clinical trials of bionic lenses.

In the first stages of testing, Ocumetics Bionic Lens will be implanted in animals, then in blind people, and only after that regular studies will begin in specialized eye clinics in Canada and other countries.

It is planned that the first Ocumetics Bionic Lens will become available for vision correction in 2017, but only for people over 25 years old, since it is at this age that a person’s eyes are considered to be fully formed.

Here is a short interview with Dr. Garth Webb, where he, among other things, demonstrates the bionic lenses he invented:

Well, let’s hope that in just a few years the technology for producing and implanting Ocumetics Bionic Lens into a person’s eyes will be perfected and it will become available to everyone who wants to have good vision for life.

Vision is of great importance for humans. With its help, we receive most of the information about the things around us. It is vision that allows us to see all the beauty of the world around us.

The accuracy of perception depends not only on the ability to see, but also on visual acuity. That is why visual acuity must be checked in kindergarten, at school, when obtaining a driver’s license or passing a medical examination at the military registration and enlistment office.

How to determine that visual acuity has decreased? When should you see a doctor? This article provides answers to these and other questions.

General information

Visual acuity is the ability of the eye to see two points separately when they are closest to each other. Cones, which are located in the central fovea of ​​the macula of the retina, are responsible for visual acuity.

The procedure for checking visual acuity in an ophthalmologist's office is called visometry. This technique is based on the use of special tables with various symbols, which the patient must see from a certain distance. In our country this distance is five meters.

How to understand that visual acuity has decreased, and what symptoms should you consult a doctor for?

Visual acuity usually decreases gradually, so many people simply do not notice it in the initial stages.

The following are dangerous symptoms, if they occur, you should immediately visit an ophthalmologist and undergo an examination:

  1. Appearance of a black veil before the eyes. It may be one of the symptoms of retinal detachment. This disease requires immediate hospitalization of the patient and surgery. Otherwise, complete loss of vision is possible.
  2. Gradual or rapid decrease in visual field. May occur as a result of damage to the optic nerve. In the absence of timely treatment, glaucoma develops and everything can end with the removal of the eye.
  3. Decreased visual acuity, nausea, vomiting, fog before the eyes, hyperemia of the eye mucosa, severe pain. These are all symptoms of angle-closure glaucoma, a disease that requires immediate treatment.
  4. Distortion, blurring, blurred vision. Visual acuity decreases, straight lines appear curved. A similar clinical picture can be observed with dystrophy of the central part of the retina. This pathology usually occurs in older people. In the absence of timely treatment, complete loss of vision can occur.
  5. The appearance of fog, dark spots, blurred vision before the eyes. Such symptoms are often a complication of diabetes mellitus and indicate retinal damage. Possible complications may include hemorrhages in the vitreous body and retina, which can lead to complete loss of vision.
  6. Reduced contrast and brightness of vision, fog before the eyes. These are signs of cataracts, a disease that causes clouding of the lens. The treatment of this pathology is surgical and consists of replacing the lens with an implant. If surgery is not performed in time, complete loss of vision is possible.
  7. Dry eyes, lacrimation, foreign body sensation, burning, decreased visual acuity. All this is dry eye syndrome. This disease has become widespread in recent decades due to the development of computer technology.

Many people are forced to spend many hours a day in front of a monitor screen, which leads to deterioration of visual acuity and the development of many ophthalmological diseases.

It is advisable to check visual acuity every six months. It is especially important to do this for those people who have a hereditary predisposition to the development of eye diseases, cervical osteochondrosis, and diabetes mellitus.

Such preventive measures will help identify possible eye problems in the early stages, which will significantly facilitate subsequent treatment and help avoid the development of a number of serious complications.

How to maintain sharp vision?

In order to maintain sharp vision for many years, you must follow the following recommendations:

  • proper organization of the workplace;
  • providing the body with the necessary vitamins and microelements (vitamin A is of particular importance for eye health);
  • compliance with the safety rules recommended by doctors when reading, working at the computer, watching television;
  • normalization of work and rest regimes;
  • giving up bad habits (tobacco smoking, alcohol abuse);
  • timely treatment of diseases that can lead to decreased visual acuity;
  • use of personal protective equipment when working in hazardous industries;
  • carrying out special gymnastics for the eyes;
  • refusal of uncontrolled use of certain medications;
  • regular preventive examinations with an ophthalmologist.

Attention! All materials published on our website are protected by copyright. When re-publishing, attribution and a link to the original source are required.

Vision is the highest gift of evolution, ensuring the survival and development of higher forms of all living things, including humans. Today, thanks to the achievements of science, even people with complete absence of vision can have a satisfactory quality of life. But unfortunately, as a way of adaptation, cognition and orientation in the surrounding world, the eye is practically irreplaceable. The cause of vision loss can be many abnormal conditions and processes, even some that may seem unimportant or not related to vision at all. But the main reasons always remain two diseases identified by ophthalmologists: clouding of the lens, persistent increased intracranial pressure. Deterioration of vision is a problem familiar to many. The consequence of this is age-related changes, hereditary predisposition, and overwork. However, most often poor vision is a consequence of some disease.

The main causes of visual impairment

There are a huge number of reasons why acute visual impairment or myopia may occur, but the main reason is weakness of the eye muscles, they lose their elasticity and firmness, this leads to problems.

Here are the main reasons:

- frequent severe eye strain (most often this is the result of a long stay at the computer),
- softening of the muscles of the lens (due to the fact that a person, in connection with work, often looks at an object at the same distance, the lenses of the eye become weak),
- aging of the retina (the light-sensitive pigment is damaged by destruction due to banal human aging),
- circulatory disorders (the causes of such disorders are determined only by biochemical tests)
- viral diseases of various origins,
— pregnancy (even such a phenomenon as a simple pregnancy can cause vision impairment, especially often vision deterioration occurs after a difficult and unsuccessful birth).

Loss of clarity of vision is possible with astigmatism, farsightedness, and myopia. These vision impairment problems refer to a state of change in the eye's display ability, where images begin to appear outside the retina. In addition to blurriness, there is also double vision and fatigue, a visual impairment in which a person sees objects poorly at a close distance, but sees well at a distance. The course of the disease myopia can be slow and stop when the growth of the body is completed. Non-worsening myopia is manifested by decreased distance vision, is easily corrected and does not require medical intervention.

Short-term loss of vision

— Decreased vision at dusk, a symptom that develops against the background of a deficiency of microelements and vitamins in the body.
— False myopia – switching visual impairment when looking at distance and near, develops as a result of overwork
— Eye fatigue is the most common cause of temporary loss of vision; it occurs due to prolonged strain on the eyes. The eye muscles tense, pain and lacrimation appear. Often all these symptoms are aggravated by headache.

For any changes in visual acuity, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive examination, which includes:

- measurement of visual acuity,
- determination of eye refraction,
- measurement of intracranial pressure,
- ultrasound examination of the internal structures of the eye,
— diagnosis of hidden pathologies,
- determining the production of tear levels,
— visual field testing and many other necessary examinations.

The doctor who performs the vision test is called an ophthalmologist. The most popular diagnostic method is to use a twelve-row table of letters, rings and pictures. A person with normal visual acuity can easily distinguish the tenth line of letters or images from a distance of five meters.

How to prevent visual impairment

Prevention of visual impairment consists in following certain rules that are designed to strengthen all mechanisms of the visual organs.

— Workplace – you should not work at a computer in a gloomy or dimly lit room. The sitting position should be level, leaning on the back of the chair, looking at the monitor slightly from above. The distance from the eyes to the monitor is approximately 50-70 cm. Operating mode – every hour of work it is necessary to take a physical break, look into the distance, towards the horizon or at the sky as often as possible.

— Gymnastics for the eyes – you also need to regularly train your eyes in much the same way as you train in the gym. The eye muscles lend themselves well to training, as a result of which the tone of the eyes is relieved, the eye muscles gain strength and become more elastic. Ophthalmologists believe that eye gymnastics will be useful to all people who even rarely experience pain and pain in the eyes. Gymnastics allows you to relax after hard work, but of course it will not completely relieve you from diseases.

— Nutrition — a balanced composition of consumed foods is necessary; the diet must certainly contain all the vitamins and microelements necessary for eye health. Vitamin A (butter, liver, fish oil, spinach). Vitamin B (cheese, meat, milk, legumes). Source of vitamin C (citrus fruits, sea buckthorn, cabbage, tomatoes). The phosphorus needed by the eyes is found in fish and seafood. Honey, dried apricots, melon are sources of potassium. Blueberries are especially beneficial for eye health; they contain a substance that restores visual pigment.

— Psychological conditions affecting the clarity of vision - the patient’s unconscious reluctance to see something. To correct your vision (myopia), you need to get rid of the fear that caused your vision to deteriorate. It may not be one fear, but several at once. For example, vision began to decline during puberty, deteriorated more strongly in college, and was completely impaired after childbirth. Each of these periods has its own fears. You need to learn to solve problems as they arise and stop expecting the worst. Such fears are not caused by existing reality, but by your excessive imagination.

Prevention of decreased visual acuity in children

Prevention of decreased visual acuity in children - it is always necessary to take care of the quality of vision in children and protect it from birth. The organ of vision matures and develops in children along with the child. In order for a child’s vision not to deteriorate, reasonable visual stress, proper reading and writing, proper organization of the working place, and a healthy diet are necessary. To the great regret of all mankind, today glasses are more often accessories for schoolchildren.

To prevent your child from becoming one of the huge number of children with vision problems, it is necessary to be constantly observed by an ophthalmologist. It is only thanks to the vision given to us by nature that we all perceive the surrounding environment and discover new horizons for ourselves. Everyone knows how important it is for a child to read, draw, and write. If parents do not take all measures to prevent vision, it is likely that it will soon be difficult for him to do what he loves, and he will have to waste precious time going to the doctors.

In conclusion

How good it is that a person, thanks to his vision. Has the ability to see. It’s hard to imagine life in complete darkness. Prevention of vision improvement is necessary for every person, regardless of whether he has poor vision or not. But unfortunately, not everyone thinks about this, but most problems begin precisely from school. Any disease is easier to prevent than to treat. Any prevention is, first of all, a clear understanding of what you are doing and why, as well as what it will give. And of course, you should not neglect a scheduled visit to the ophthalmologist - at least once a year. Follow the rules and take care of your eyesight!

A headache and pressure on the eyes from the inside is a symptom that should alert you

Every person has experienced a headache at least once. But if eye pain is added to this feeling, you need to be wary. We will tell you about the main reasons why your eyes and head hurt. In most cases, you should not hesitate, but consult a doctor promptly.

Reasons

Eye pain and headache may indicate a number of complications:

  1. Increased intracranial pressure. In this case, the pain appears sharply, and with any strain (sneezing, coughing) it intensifies. The pain in the eyes is shooting in nature. The diagnosis is confirmed by puncture or tomogram, and a vascular pattern appears in the fundus.
  2. Intracranial hematoma. In this case, a prolonged headache lasting up to a week is more often observed, but painful sensations in the eyes may also occur.
  3. Risk of stroke. In old age, headaches that radiate to the eyes may indicate exactly this. When changing body position, not necessarily abruptly, dizziness may occur.
  4. Aneurysm. In this case, the eye and headache pains last about a week and are pulsating in nature. In this case, urgent surgery is required.
  5. Infectious diseases of the nasopharynx and head - sinusitis, sinusitis, meningitis, encephalitis. The pain is constant, the headaches are more pronounced than the eye pain. There is a feeling that the pain is localized in the back of the eyeball; when changing the position of the body and head, the discomfort intensifies.
  6. Sarcoma of the brain. The pain is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. An urgent visit to a doctor is mandatory.
  7. Eye fatigue. Spending a long time in front of a computer monitor or TV leads to excessive dryness of the eyes, and squeezing sensations appear in the back of the head and temples.
  8. Incorrectly selected glasses or contact lenses. In this case, aching headaches appear, accompanied by sore eyes.
  9. Nervous overstrain. At the same time, the headache radiates into the eyes and seems to “press” on them, you constantly want to close them, and floaters appear. The sensations appear due to spasm of the blood vessels that supply the shoulder muscles, neck, and face.
  10. An increase in blood pressure is accompanied by a pressing heaviness in the head and a feeling of bulging eyes. With low blood pressure, on the contrary, there is a desire to close your eyes, your eyelids seem heavy.
  11. Migraine. Accompanied by unilateral pain in the head and eyes. The sensation may be intermittent and shooting. At the same time, limbs may become numb and pain may occur when looking at the light.
  12. Allergic reaction. This usually adds lacrimation, itching in the eyes, and burning.
  13. Glaucoma. There is pain in the back of the head and one part of the head. The eyes turn red, visual acuity decreases, and a bright halo may appear around objects. Sometimes nausea occurs.
  14. Other eye diseases.

How to relieve pain

Most often, pain in the eyes and head appears due to overwork, so you need to try to get rid of it using simple relaxing methods, which will be described below.

You should consult a doctor when others have been added to the above symptoms, and the pain does not go away even after proper rest. A detailed examination will probably be needed to clarify the causes.

And to relieve pain caused by fatigue, try the following methods:

  1. Give your eyes a rest - get enough sleep, don’t work at the computer for a day or two, avoid watching TV.
  2. Get a relaxing head massage. Massage your head with your fingertips, moving from the middle of the occipital region to the temples, and also working on the back of the head and neck.
  3. You can try to eliminate antispasmodic pain with Spazmalgon, but if after a while the symptoms return, do not hesitate, go to the doctor.

Certain procedures will help identify the problem.

  • Using computed tomography, you can find out about the absence of cerebral circulatory disorders, check for consequences after injuries, and monitor the presence of space-occupying formations.
  • Magnetic resonance imaging of the spine and brain allows timely diagnosis of sinusitis, stroke, intervertebral hernia, and brain tumor.
  • Magnetic resonance angiography detects stenotic changes and aneurysm.

Treatment of dacryocystitis in adults - a list of effective methods: massage, drops, probing

Dacryocystitis is an ophthalmic inflammation of the lacrimal sac, in which these processes develop due to blockage of the nasolacrimal ducts.

What is dacryocystitis in adults?

Dacryocystitis (ICD-10 catalog code – H04.3) is an acute inflammation of the tear ducts. The disease is more easily tolerated in adults than in children.

The pathology occurs quite rarely in adults: of all those who consult an ophthalmologist, only 6% of adults are diagnosed with dacryocystitis.

Women are five times more likely to visit doctors with this problem, and ophthalmologists explain this by differences in the structure of the nasolacrimal duct in women and men.

According to statistics, the disease most often affects people in the middle age group.

In a normal state, the tear produced in the lacrimal sac, passing through such a canal, collects in the inner corner of the eye, after which it again leaves through the canals into the nasal cavity.

If at some stage the patency of the canal becomes difficult or completely limited, dacryocystitis is diagnosed.

Photo



Causes of the disease

Unlike children, in whom this disease is congenital and occurs due to a protective film that did not break in time, the causes of dacryocystitis in adults are different:

  • pathological narrowing and closure of the nasolacrimal duct;
  • viral or bacterial diseases that contribute to the development of edema that compresses the tear ducts;
  • fractures of the orbital bones of the eye or nose;
  • violation of the integrity of the lacrimal canals due to injuries;
  • foreign bodies getting into the tear ducts;
  • polyps in the nasal cavity.

Symptoms of dacryocystitis in adults

The symptoms of dacryocystitis in adults are similar to the symptoms of this disease in children.

In particular, uncontrolled tearing or its absence may be observed, the area of ​​the lacrimal sac becomes noticeably swollen, and the eyelids and corners of the eyes take on a red tint.

Tearing may stop within a day after the tear ducts become clogged.

And after a few hours, instead of tears, purulent exudate begins to be released abundantly or not very much.

If you press on the lacrimal sac, the patient experiences pain, and if the disease is acute, such pain can be aching and very sensitive.

In the chronic form, pain may be completely absent.

Acute and chronic form

The two types of disease can be distinguished by symptoms, and in the acute form the following symptoms can be observed in the patient;

  • increased body temperature;
  • swelling in the area of ​​the lacrimal sacs;
  • narrowing of the palpebral fissure;
  • possible swelling of the eyelids;
  • pain in the orbit of the eye;
  • manifestation of general symptoms of intoxication of the body.

The tumor, which can be easily felt in the area of ​​the lacrimal sac, may initially be dense to the touch, but after a few days it begins to soften and the swelling subsides.

During this period, an abscess forms, which can spontaneously open, and due to the outflow of pus from it, swelling decreases.

In the chronic form, the patient does not experience pain, but at the same time he experiences strong constant lacrimation, and the swelling in the area of ​​the lacrimal sac turns into a tumor, upon which pressure begins to flow from the lacrimal canaliculi.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis in adults begins with a general urine and blood test, after which a specialist takes a smear for bacterial culture.

Sometimes such disorders can cause dacryocystitis, and in these cases surgery is often necessary.

A tubular test is required, during which a Collargol dye solution is instilled into the patient’s eyes.

After such instillation, the patient's eyeball is observed to determine whether this substance goes into the tubules. If this does not happen, this indicates their blockage.

Treatment

Treatment of dacryocystitis in adults in the early stages involves exclusively conservative treatment: this is a standard massage of the tubules and the use of antibacterial eye drops.

If this does not help, mechanical cleaning of the canals using a special surgical probe is required.

Massage for dacryocystitis

The patient can perform the massage independently, pressing on the outer corner of the eye with the tip of a finger and gradually moving to the inner corner, without stopping the pressure.

The video describes in detail and shows how to do a massage yourself:

Drops

Therefore, the use of the following eye drops is considered more effective:

  • fusidic acid;
  • cefuroxime;
  • chloramphenicol;
  • tetracycline;
  • doxycycline.

If an abscess is already forming, physiotherapeutic procedures help well, although it is preferable to perform an operation to open the abscess.

Probing

If conservative treatment does not produce results, specialists prescribe probing.

This method is not used for newborns, but for children from one year old and even more so for adults, this method can help.

When performing this procedure, local anesthesia is performed, after which the doctor inserts a rigid probe into the lacrimal canal, which breaks through the accumulated plugs and expands the canals.

Sometimes it is possible to get by with just one procedure, although every third case requires repeated intervention after a few days.

In general, the prognosis for this procedure is favorable, and in 9 out of 10 patients, after probing, the circulation of fluids in the lacrimal canaliculi is restored.

Possible consequences and prognosis of treatment

Dacryocystitis is one of those types of ophthalmological pathologies that cannot be left to chance in the hope that the disease will not progress over time.

If the lacrimal sac and lacrimal canal become inflamed, this in itself indicates the presence of pathogenic microflora in the foci of inflammation.

If dacryocystitis is not treated in time, the following diseases may develop as complications:

Sometimes the attachment of a corneal ulcer is diagnosed. The consequence of this is the development of a cataract.

If a cataract does not form, ulcerations of the cornea can lead to perforation, which leads to subatrophy of the eye.

These are quite serious complications, in which even loss of vision is an optimistic prognosis: most often the development of such processes leads to death.