June 6, 2016, a lucky day, the 21st National Eye Care Day. Ding Ma’s circle of friends kept appearing articles and activity introductions about eyes from early in the morning, and she couldn’t help but want to say something about children’s eyesight health.
Is the child’s eyesight normal?
Mom and Dad know their babies best, but when it comes to the development of their children’s eyesight, there are really many parents who are too big-hearted, while others are too timid.
Some parents said that it was not easy. It was normal for children to look at the visual chart and see 1.0 or less clearly.
However, people do not know that they can see everything clearly from birth. Newborns can only see the movement of objects in front of them, and can only see the shape of human faces after about 4 months. With the stimulation of the external environment, the visual system develops rapidly and the eyesight gradually improves.
As far as the ability to look at the visual chart is concerned, children with normal eyesight are about the same:
- 3 ~ 5 years old: 0.3 ~ 0.7 can be clearly seen; 5 ~ 7 years old: 0.7 ~ 0.9 can be clearly seen; Above 7 years old: can see 1.0 or above clearly.
In addition, parents can see the clue from some of their children’s performances:
- After 1 year old, the baby’s eyes still show signs of cross-eye. Baby [clumsy hands], it is difficult to pick up or grab small items; There are ocular diseases related manifestations such as [crooked neck] [pale pupil] [hard eyes].
Faithful readers must know what Ding Ma is going to say… If the above-mentioned performance occurs, parents are advised to take their children to the hospital’s ophthalmology department for a walk. In case there is a real problem, they should treat and recover as early as possible so as not to affect their children’s future development.
Why are there more and more children wearing glasses?
Nowadays, children wearing glasses can be seen everywhere. We cannot help questioning the pressure of compulsory education and the excessive use of electronic products.
Ding Ma would like to remind everyone that, on the one hand, as economic conditions get better and residents’ health awareness increases, more and more children are able to wear glasses and have the opportunity to see the world clearly. On the other hand, common vision problems include strabismus, hyperopia and astigmatism in addition to myopia. The latter two have little to do with the phenomena we question.
Of course, the phenomenon of excessive eye use does exist: staring at TV for several hours from the age of two, and doing homework from evening till late at night when I grow up.
Some parents worry that they are myopic, so 80% of their children are myopic? Indeed, at present, the cause of myopia is inseparable from heredity. However, the degree and habits of children’s eyes, the usage habits of electronic screen products, and the time to participate in outdoor activities are also obviously related to myopia.
Then we have to let our children study, right? Can’t children live a primitive life without electronic products forever?
In this case, it is very important to help children establish good eye habits from an early age.
Is there a what method to prevent myopia?
Modern scientists have found that bad habit of using eyes at close range and long time of using eyes are important environmental risk factors, such as eyes too close to books, too strong or too weak lighting, continuous reading for several hours, long time watching electronic devices such as mobile phones, etc.
In order to prevent myopia, ophthalmologists suggest leading children to cultivate reading habits including:
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Keep the distance between eyes and reading materials at least 25 ~ 30cm, and do not read while riding, walking or lying in bed.
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When reading, use double lighting, i.e. Place another desk lamp 50 cm away from the book while there is appropriate brightness dispersion lighting (such as fluorescent lamp on the ceiling).
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Read for 45 ~ 50 minutes and rest for 10 minutes. It is best to rest in outdoor natural light or overlook.
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Appropriate increase in outdoor activities. Epidemiological studies show that the longer a child spends outdoors, the lower the risk of myopia.
Ding Ma: When editing this part, I was thinking in my heart… It’s not easy to be a parent. For the sake of children’s eyesight, these trivial things have to be kept in charge from time to time and I have to set an example. I have been lying down and reading for 30 years…
Regarding the use of electronic screens, suggestions from the American Academy of Pediatrics are as follows:
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Confirm that the computer desks and chairs at home are suitable for children, so that the child’s horizontal line of sight is about 15 degrees higher than the center of the screen, and the height of the keyboard and mouse is just enough for the child’s upper arm to droop naturally and the forearm to be placed horizontally.
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When looking at the electronic screen, the room light should be dimmed.
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Encourage children to sit upright, at least 50 cm; away from the large screen;
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Remind children to rest their eyes every 20 minutes, such as standing up and walking, doing a set of exercises and drinking some water.
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Avoid using electronic screens before going to bed. Screen light may affect sleep.
In addition, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents let their children watch the screen for no more than 2 hours a day. As far as possible, children under 2 years old should not watch electronic screens.
Is there any way to cure myopia?
First of all, Ding Ma wants to tell everyone a bad news: myopia [there is no medicine to save]. If you don’t pay attention to a series of eye hygiene mentioned above, myopia will not be cured permanently regardless of what [treatment method].
Then Ding Ma certainly has to add a good news: on the basis of paying attention to eye hygiene, there are many reliable ways to relieve the deepening of myopia and improve vision level.
The following three methods are effective.
Step 1 Wear close-up glasses
There have been rumors that if you wear close-up glasses for a long time, your eyes will deform and your eyesight will decline, so it is the best policy not to wear glasses. Don’t believe it.
Eye deformation really occurs, but this is not due to wearing glasses, but is directly caused by myopia or farsightedness. In other words, eyeballs without glasses will also deform.
The statement that wearing glasses will lead to an increase in power is even more [framed] glasses-unreasonable eye-use habits, wearing glasses when they are taken off, or wearing inferior glasses will increase power, while wearing glasses all day as far as possible on the premise of ensuring good eye-use habits can protect eyes and delay the deterioration of myopia.
Step 2 Wear OK Mirror
The name of OK lens [orthokeratology lens] can correct vision by changing the curvature of cornea. It does not need to be worn during the day, but can be worn when sleeping, bringing great convenience to life.
Its disadvantages are easy to break down, difficult to clean and expensive, but it can really delay the development of myopia in some children to the greatest extent. When the children grow up and the degree of myopia is stable, the vision problem can be solved by laser surgery and other methods.
However, the OK mirror has clear requirements for the wearer:
- Age: over 9 years old; Diagnosis: Simple myopia or myopic astigmatism; Severity: The ideal degree is myopia less than 450 degrees and astigmatism less than 150 degrees, which will increase the difficulty of matching. Others: Medical parameters such as corneal curvature, transverse diameter and eccentricity index need to reach the standard; Taboo: There are eye problems such as inflammation, allergic conjunctivitis and severe dry eye.
3. Laser surgery
Many parents do not intervene more when they find their children myopic, or follow the children who do not want to wear glasses, because [just have surgery when they grow up]-Ding Ma wants to say that this heart is a bit too big…
Perhaps everyone knows that, in common sense, laser surgery should be done after the child’s development is basically fixed and the myopia degree is stable. Ding Ma will not repeat this aspect, but will only mention one topic to everyone: laser surgery is not something you want to do.
At present, the range of correction that laser corneal refractive surgery can be corrected is as follows:
- Myopia: less than 1,200 degrees; Hyperopia: within 600 degrees; Astigmatism: within 600 degrees.
We know that if left unchecked, myopia will gradually deepen and vision will be affected. What should I do then? Or four words: eye hygiene.
Ding Ma: Turn it up and review it. You have to [force] your child to do something.
Can food supplement cure myopia?
Ding Ma speculated that this may be the part that everyone wants to see most…
The most widely known legend is [pig liver improves eyesight]… Sorry, this choice is unhealthy, because there may be residues of heavy metals and veterinary drugs in it. Think about the current situation of antibiotic abuse and water pollution in China… So Ding Ma suggested that friends who once believed in pig liver should give priority to eating more carrots for their children.
However, carrots also can’t treat myopia, it can only play a role in protecting eyesight and improving night blindness, that is to say, in the stage of preventing myopia, eating carrots is a good choice, so don’t expect it to have therapeutic effect. Moreover, people who eat too many carrots will really turn yellow and don’t look good!
There is also a legend that eating medlar can improve eyesight because it contains a lot of [lutein]. Er, hey, I’m sorry, Ding Ma wants to disappoint you again. You don’t have to eat medlar specially. Eat some vegetables and fruits every day, which is the same as the lutein obtained by eating a lot of medlar-more, your body doesn’t need it, so don’t bother.
In addition to food supplements, there are many unreliable products that look at parents’ weaknesses, such as training instruments, myopia eye masks, herbal medicine for myopia, acupuncture for myopia… Don’t believe it!
Reference article:
- Those things about children’s eyesight: those things about knowing myopic children’s eyesight: laser surgery for ametropia to save eyesight, can you do it? OK mirror is so expensive, can it really cure children’s myopia? Eyes will deform and the degree will increase! Glasses: Why is it always that I don’t want electronic screens to harm children’s health,