Parents should know these myopia prevention and control knowledge early

A new semester, a new starting point, a new atmosphere! Students use their eyes scientifically. "Vision" is of great importance, so we must pay attention to "vision". The first lesson of the new semester starts with some tips on eye care.

Myopia refers to the situation where when the eyes are in a relaxed state, parallel light rays pass through the eye's refractive system and focus in front of the retina.

In layman's terms, we can compare the eyeball to a camera, the refractive system of the eye is the "lens", equivalent to the focusing system, and the retina at the fundus is equivalent to the camera film. When you are nearsighted, the film cannot clearly present the distant view taken by the camera, which is equivalent to not being able to see distant objects clearly.

What are the signs that you should be alert to myopia?

1. Looking at things closer: Children look at things very closely. For example, their eyes are very close when watching TV, reading, or playing with electronic products, they bend their backs when doing homework, etc.

They cannot see clearly at a normal distance and must move their eyes closer to objects to see clearly. They like to get closer to the screen. The eyes are in a state of abnormal adjustment and tension spasm, which makes it difficult to see far away. On the one hand, it will form pseudomyopia, and on the other hand, it is more likely to cause visual fatigue and accelerate the formation and progression of true myopia.

2. Like to squint, frown, tilt the head, look up to see things, and often pull the corners of the eyes: Children's squinting, frowning, and pulling the corners of the eyes can make the eyelids cover part of the pupil, less diffuse light, and improve vision. Pulling the corners of the eyes can also flatten the cornea to change the refractive power. These can temporarily improve the vision of children with mild myopia. Similarly, tilting the head and looking up can also change the refractive state of children to a certain extent, so that they can see more clearly.

3. Frequent eye rubbing and frequent blinking: Some children experience eye discomfort due to myopia and cannot see objects clearly, and visual fatigue caused by excessive use of eyes. These will cause children to rub their eyes repeatedly with their hands. Frequent eye rubbing may aggravate children's myopia and astigmatism.

4. Other abnormal behaviors: children may not copy neatly when doing homework, or become irritable or even tired of studying; they may not like to greet people and become irritable; they may have bad relationships with other children; etc. These changes may be early warning signs of myopia. When children cannot see clearly, they may become anxious.

What to do if you find your child is nearsighted

If the above signs of myopia are found, it is recommended that parents take their children to a regular hospital or optometry institution for an eye examination, mainly including visual acuity, fundus, eye axis, refractive power, etc., to rule out organic eye lesions and pseudomyopia. Mydriasis refraction is a diagnostic examination method that plays an important role in the prevention and control of myopia in children.

☆ Mydriasis optometry: Children's ciliary muscles have strong adjustment ability. If ciliary muscle paralysis is not used during optometry, and the child is in the pseudomyopia stage, the optometry results may include the degree of pseudomyopia, resulting in inaccurate glasses and affecting refractive development. Mydriasis optometry can relax the ciliary muscles, and the optometry results at this time are more objective and reliable.

☆Confirmation of true myopia: Once a child is diagnosed with true myopia, he or she should actively cooperate with the ophthalmologist for correction, and at the same time, do a good job in myopia prevention and control.

Myopia is a serious public health problem, which requires the formation of a three-dimensional prevention and control network involving individuals, families, schools, and medical institutions to effectively curb the occurrence and development of myopia.

How to prevent myopia in children

★ 2 hours of outdoor activities per day/14 hours per week: Whether you are nearsighted or not, the most effective way to prevent myopia is outdoor activities, and the core of outdoor activities for myopia prevention and control is light. This is the reason why "eyes" are bathed in the sun.

It is best to do outdoor sports when the sun is bright, accumulating 2 hours a day, which can effectively prevent the occurrence and development of myopia. Outdoor activities in the sun can effectively increase the content of dopamine in the eyes, increase the thickness of the choroid, inhibit the growth of the eye axis, and control the development of myopia.

In addition, even without sunlight, outdoor activities can allow children's eyes to fully relax and help prevent myopia.

★Control the time and distance of eye use: Babies under 3 years old should try not to use electronic products. On the basis of ensuring 2 hours of outdoor activities every day, children aged 3 to 6 should not use electronic products for more than 1 hour a day, and each time should not exceed 15 minutes.

If you want to watch cartoons, it is best to use a TV, projector, etc. to ensure a suitable viewing distance. The mobile phone screen is small, so try not to touch it.

When using a projector, pay attention to the screen resolution. Effective contrast sensitivity can help children see things more clearly and reduce fatigue. The screen size is not necessarily bigger, the better. We generally recommend that the viewing distance is 3 to 4 times the diagonal distance of the screen.

Create a good reading environment and avoid using your eyes for long periods of time or at close range in a dim environment.

★ Follow the "20-20-20" eye protection principle: for every 20 minutes of close-up use of the eyes, look into the distance for at least 20 seconds at a distance of 20 feet (6 meters). Depending on the child's eye use, you don't have to stick to the 20-second limit, and you can increase the time for looking into the distance appropriately.

★Maintain correct reading and writing posture: Correct reading and writing posture is very important. Encourage your children to do three "ones": eyes one foot (≥33 cm) away from the book, chest one fist (6-8 cm) away from the table, fingers one inch (about 3 cm) away from the tip of the pen; do not lie down, lie on your side or read books or look at mobile phones in a moving car.

★ Proper diet and adequate sleep: For growing children, a balanced diet and adequate sleep are the cornerstones of healthy growth. Lack of sleep may affect the eyes through different pathways such as endocrine, nerve, and immunity, thereby reducing eye comfort and causing children's vision to decline. Therefore, while ensuring that children have adequate nutrition, it is equally important to ensure adequate sleep.