What does your child do?

My child rubs his eyes

Votre enfant se frotte les yeux, il est important de lui apporter des solutions pour le soulager. Découvrez comment traiter ce symptôme.

If your child rubs his eyes frequently, this can reflect discomfort or significant visual effort. This sensation is often linked to blurred vision from an uncorrected refractive disorder. This gesture may also be related to local eye irritation, such as dryness, local inflammation or an allergic reaction. We invite you to understand the different disorders that cause this symptom. 

Dry eye

Thanks to a tear film composed of three layers: mucous, aqueous and lipid, our eyes are protected daily from external environmental factors. When one of these three layers is impaired, it can cause dry eye. Most of the time, this dryness is bilateral; it is caused by insufficient humidification of the anterior structures of the eye, so the child may tend to rub his eyes. 

There are several ways to screen for eyelid irritation and dry eyes. You can pay attention to the good closure of the child’s eyelids during sleep. There are also tests to assess the quantity and quality of tears to check the state of dry eye. The ophthalmologist can perform a visual acuity test on the child and inspect for signs of eyelid irritation. The use of tears by fluorescent drops by an eye specialist is a good indicator: the more stain is marked, the greater the dryness of the eyes. 

Eye allergy

Our eyes are constantly in contact with the outside world, so they are vulnerable to eye allergies. If the child has red, irritated eyes with significant lacrimation, it is important to consult an ophthalmologist. At first, to relieve the child, it is possible to apply cold water compresses to the eyes. The use of saline can relieve discomfort and irritation. 

In order to discover the cause of the allergy, an allergy assessment may be carried out, and, depending on the result, it will be possible to carry out desensitisation. If the allergy is related to hay fever, it will be useful to know which pollen is causing the allergy in order to adapt the treatment. 

Astigmatism 

Astigmatism is a refractive visual defect characterised by an irregularity of the cornea. It is possible to detect if the child is astigmatic with the help of an examination carried out by an ophthalmologist. Wearing glasses with corrective lenses can correct astigmatism in children. 

Hyperopia 

Does your child complain of headaches and have difficulty distinguishing objects close by? Does this eye strain give him a burning sensation in his eyes? These symptoms can be signs of hyperopia.

In order to relieve the child’s eyes, it is important to consult an ophthalmologist. The latter can carry out an ophthalmological examination of visual acuity and then refraction. Just like myopia and astigmatism, screening for hyperopia with early management can avoid amblyopia. 

Myopia

If the child rubs his eyes, and squints when he looks at far-off objects, it is possible that his far vision is affected. Myopia develops increasingly young in children due to the use of screens.

Heredity is also a risk factor. If the child’s parents are myopic, they are 8 times more likely to develop myopia. Among the different treatments, the most common will be to correct the myopia with the help of corrective lenses.