This article is reproduced from: Guangming.com
In the summer vacation, many parents take their children to the hospital to check their vision and eye health, which can be said to have set off a wave of “glasses”. On July 28, the reporter came to the ophthalmology clinic of the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University and saw children and parents standing outside the clinic and in the optometry area.
Is mydriatic optometry safe? Can myopia be cured? Is the “myopia medicine” any good? What is the most effective way to prevent myopia? In response to these questions, the reporter interviewed ophthalmologists to answer them one by one.
The overall myopia rate of children and adolescents in my country is 53.6%
Zhao Jiangyue, director of the Department of Ophthalmology of the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, said that the summer vacation is an ophthalmology department During the peak period of medical treatment, especially the outpatient volume of myopia in adolescents is two to three times that of the usual, and myopia in children and adolescents in my country shows a trend of high incidence and younger age. According to the results of the 2018 National Children and Adolescent Myopia Survey released by the National Health Commission, the overall myopia rate among children and adolescents in my country is 53.6%, of which 14.5% are in kindergartens, 36.0% in primary school students, 71.6% in junior high school students, and 81.0% in high school students. The situation of myopia prevention and control is very serious. Zhao Jiangyue reminded parents to pay attention to their children’s vision health, to establish eye health files from preschool age, and to take their children to have at least two vision tests every year.
Is mydriatic optometry safe?
In the process of checking eyesight, some parents often refuse the doctor to prescribe cycloplegia optometry (mydriatic optometry) for their children, thinking that mydriatic drugs may harm their children’s eyes or body. In this regard, Zhao Jiangyue explained that the diagnosis of myopia in children and adolescents requires optometry after cycloplegia. If children and adolescents use their eyes more closely for a period of time and the ciliary muscle is not sufficiently relaxed, there may be a certain degree of adjustment tension or called adjustment spasm, which is often heard as “pseudo-myopia” . Cycloplegia optometry can eliminate the effects of external accommodation and can be used to distinguish “true” or “false” myopia. Children with young age, farsightedness, and esotropia need full dilated optometry.
Two extreme reactions are not advisable
After a comprehensive examination, many children were diagnosed with myopia. Parents have two extreme reactions to their children’s myopia: one is that they feel that they are short-sighted anyway, and they just need to have a pair of glasses; Accelerates and the eyes are easily deformed. Zhao Jiangyue reminded that neither of these two methods is advisable, and the choice needs to be made according to the actual situation of the child. When parents discover their child’s myopia for the first time, they should first analyze the child’s learning environment, eye habits, etc., such as whether to maintain more than 2 hours of outdoor activities every day, whether the sitting posture when doing homework is “one punch, one foot and one inch”, and whether it is too long every day Watching with your eyes or electronic screens at close distances for too long, whether you sleep more than 9 hours per night, etc.
What is the need for glasses?
About whether to wear myopia glasses, Zhao Jiangyue believes that when the degree of myopia is greater than 100 degrees, it is difficult to meet the daily needs of reading the blackboard and reading and writing because the eyesight of both eyes will be worse. There are some problems with binocular vision, so glasses are recommended.
Is low-concentration atropine a “magic drug”?
For low-concentration atropine, which is regarded as the “magic medicine for myopia”, Zhao Jiangyue calls on people to treat it rationally. Once myopia occurs, it is irreversible. Low concentrations of atropine can delay the progression of myopia to a certain extent, but cannot cure myopia. Before using low-concentration atropine, a professional ophthalmic medical institution should conduct a baseline evaluation.
What is the most effective way to prevent myopia?
“At present, the most effective way to prevent and control myopia is to take part in more outdoor activities.” Zhao Jiangyue said that studies have shown that 2 hours a day, a total of 14 hours of outdoor activities a week, and “eyes” bathing in the sun can be effective. To prevent myopia, outdoor activities for more than 6 hours a day may shorten the eye axis.