Short-sighted, nearsighted, myopia? How can we prevent it in our children?
Its a fact! Myopia is on the increase. The percentage of people developing Myopia globally is on a sharp increase. Here is no “cure” for myopia. That’s a fact too. No amount of eye exercises, alternative medicine or wearing strange glasses which “train your eyesight” can cure myopia. Myopia forms because the eye ball has anatomically changed by growing too long and there is no way to cure this. You cannot cut part of the eye ball off! However, research has shown that there are ways to control mypoia or reduce the chances of it developing.
The term Myopia is the clinical term for what we more commonly call short-sighted or near sighted. Let’s get this in context before we go any further...this does not mean having to wear reading glasses or that you can’t see up close; On the contrary a myopic or short-sighted person can see really well up close, it’s the distance which is the problem. People, who are short-sighted, commonly will have problems with activities which require distance vision; for children this is usually the blackboard in school, TV, Cinema, sports and as the myope progresses into adulthood, we can add driving to the list!
Like any eye condition, myopia can be mild, where the glasses are only required for intermittent use; such as driving TV or cinema, or on the other hand, the myopia ,may be severe, where the person cannot get out of bed without putting on their glasses. There is unfortunately, also the category of people who are myopic and refuse to wear their glasses in the mistaken belief that a) wearing their glasses will make their eye sight worse or b) they are not bad enough to need glasses; any optician will tell you, we have all had those people in our chairs. I just hope they realise the risk they are taking on the roads!
So, let’s look at the idea that “wearing glasses makes your eye sight worse”..this is a myth! If you can’t see, you can’t see. If you need glasses to see better, wear them! The reason we feel our eyesight gets worse when we wear our glasses is primarily because we see so well with them on, when we take them off; we realise just how much we need them. So the advice is, do what your Optometrist tells you, if you need them all the time, wear them all the time, if you need them some of the time, use them for those times when you will need them.
For children, however, wearing glasses when they need them is critical. Much research has gone into the area of Myopia and children. There is no doubt about it, myopia is on the increase. Question is why? What are the factors which cause a child to become myopic?
Risk factors for developing myopia
Well, number 1 on that list is family history. If either Mum or Dad are myopic, chances are pretty high, junior will be myopic too. It’s in the genes. But if BOTH Mum and Dad are myopic; then it’s pretty certain junior will be myopic, in fact there is pretty much no escaping it, and unfortunately, Junior will most likely take after the parent with the worst eye sight.
Other factors which have been looked at are; the amount of time a child spends doing close work, height factors; as in taller children may be more prone to myopia (tell that to the Orientals) and dietary factors; as in more high protein, high processed carbohydrate diet may be more prone to triggering myopia in children. However, all the research has proved inconclusive. There was a theory doing the rounds that computer games were triggering myopia in children. So what is the answer? NONE OF THE ABOVE!
The most recent research and eye studies show that there is a definite link between reduced exposure to natural light and the development of myopia. So, if your child spends more time indoors, whatever activities they may be doing, they are at a higher risk of developing Myopia. The computer game link comes in where that child who spends all their time indoors, being a child of the 21st century is most likely to be playing some sort of computer game. The analogy I like use is to think of animals which are nocturnal or spend most of their lives inside; their vision is the poorest developed sense. Good examples would be the Mole or the Bat.
So, the studies carried out on 10,400 children showed that near sighted children spend more time indoors. Part of this study included two groups of children who were already shortsighted. One group was given a schedule to follow of outdoor activities, while the other group continued their normal schedule (indoors). The results showed that the group of children who spent more time outdoors had slowed down the development of their myopia as opposed the “indoor” group, who had developed myopia more rapidly.
Preventing progression of myopia
So, how can we prevent our children who have already developed myopia from getting worse?
1. Make sure they wear their glasses and keep the prescription up to date. It has already been established that not wearing the correct up to date prescription or not wearing glasses enough, speeds up the development of myopia.
2. Soft contact lenses may increase myopia while RGP lenses will help to stabilise the rate of progression (unfortunately however, it has also been shown that when the child/adult ceases RGP (hard contact lenses) wear, in many cases the myopia returns to where it would have been anyway). But contact lenses are a good way of ensuring the prescription is always up to date, as well as the freedom of vision they allow.
3. The use of bifocal or varifocal spectacles and contact lenses has been thought to reduce the rate of progression in myopia; however, this is still being researched.
4. Research into lenses which help to control myopia by controlling what is known as “peripheral blur” has not yet yielded any evidence to support that these lens designs actually work.
5. Diet; Control your child’s (and yourown!) intake of protein and refined carbohydrates; as well as being detrimental to general health, poor diet has been linked to an increase in myopia.
6. Get your child outdoors, in the fresh air with plenty of sporty activities. Apart from being good for their general health and well-being, it has been proven to work! It’s a piece of advice we can all apply to our lifestyles.
Any questions? Contact me at info@optometrists.ie or 0872394822
Lynda McGivney-Nolan FAOI
Association of Optometrists Ireland, Promoting Sight for life. |