Adolescents' vision health requires joint protection from families, schools, and society. In recent years, the widespread use of electronic devices has led to an increase in myopia at a younger age, causing anxiety among many parents. When it comes to myopia, parents sometimes worry excessively but lack the correct methods to address the problem.
Many parents believe that vision checks are only needed when their children start primary school, as they use their eyes more then. However, after the age of 3, most children can cooperate with vision tests, allowing for a preliminary vision check. It is recommended to conduct vision screening every three to six months. Schools or parents can purchase a standard eye chart, hang it on the wall, and have children identify the letters from a distance of 5 meters.
In daily life, if parents notice their children looking sideways, tilting their heads, squinting, rubbing their eyes, or watching TV and reading books very closely, they should be alert as it may indicate vision problems. Parents should take their children to a reputable medical institution to establish a refractive development file. Starting eye examinations no later than age 3 helps to detect eye diseases and refractive errors such as myopia, astigmatism, high hyperopia, and amblyopia early, identify potential myopia "suspects," and intervene early to control myopia progression.
When parents hear that their children are myopic, they often ask, "Is it pseudomyopia or real myopia?" Many believe that if the child is young and the degree is low, it is pseudomyopia and reversible. Pseudomyopia refers to temporary vision decline caused by excessive near work and ciliary muscle tension, which can be reversed with rest or ciliary muscle paralysis eye drops. However, if a hospital examination with pupil dilation detects myopia, it is not pseudomyopia, regardless of the child's age or degree of myopia.
Therefore, when a child experiences vision decline, it is crucial to take them to a hospital for a pupil dilation eye exam. For most myopic children, a quick dilation eye exam of 4 to 6 hours is sufficient to rule out pseudomyopia.
Both normal eyes and myopic eyes with appropriate glasses need to adjust to see close objects. This adjustment changes the eye's focus, bringing the focal point from distant objects to nearby objects for clear vision.
A myopic eye without glasses has its focus on near objects, so it can see close objects clearly without much adjustment. However, this long-term lack of adjustment can deteriorate the eye's focusing ability and affect its convergence ability. Except for special instructions from a doctor, it is recommended that myopic children wear glasses for both distance and near vision.
True myopia detected after pupil dilation is irreversible. Most myopia is caused by the elongation of the eyeball, which is the distance from the front surface of the cornea to the retina, akin to the "height" of the eyeball. In children who are still growing, without intervention, the eyeball will continue to elongate, increasing the degree of myopia.
We cannot make developing eyes shrink, just as we cannot make a tall person shorter. Thus, the worsening of myopia is not caused by wearing glasses. In fact, not wearing glasses increases the burden on the eyes and may accelerate the increase in myopia. It is necessary to wear glasses with the appropriate degree to correct vision and to replace glasses as myopia increases, recommended every six months.
The elongation of the eyeball is irreversible, and myopia cannot be cured. However, many vision training institutions exaggerate their training effects, claiming they can completely cure myopia. In reality, these trainings improve children's ability to recognize images, creating the illusion of improved vision.
In fact, the elongated eyeball, the degree of myopia, and the thinned retina cannot be reversed. Excessive training may increase the intensity of near work, accelerating myopia progression. Many parents, in their effort to improve their children's eyesight, might be using incorrect methods, harming their children's eye health instead.