Myopia (also called short-sightedness) is an eye condition that causes blurry distance vision. A person with myopia can see clearly up close such as reading or looking at their phone screen, but to see when driving, watching tv or the smart board in class is blurry for them.
Myopia has always been around, but we are seeing a sharp increase in the prevalence of short sighted children in recent times. In Australia, the rate of short sightedness in 12 year olds has doubled in just six years and it is projected that by the year 2050, half of all people living in the world will be myopic! Not only are more children myopic today, but we are seeing them becoming myopic at an earlier age. This is not ideal, because we know that the earlier a child becomes myopic then the more severe their myopia is likely to become in the long run.
This can become a huge problem because myopia causes a host of different eye health problems in adulthood such as retinal detachment, glaucoma, macular degeneration and earlier cataract development.
You can help prevent your child’s risk of myopia by encouraging them to take regular breaks from close work, limiting their screen time to the recommended 2 hours maximum each day and encouraging them to spend time outdoors. Book them in for regular eye tests because the earlier that myopia is detected, the more that can be done to treat it and slow it down.
At Hansen Optometrists Parkes, we offer the full array of latest myopia treatments to help put the brakes on your child’s myopia progression.
