By Myopia Control Doctor in Baltimore Myopia Control Baltimore December 4, 2019

The number of kids with myopia (nearsightedness) is soaring – and screen time isn’t the only factor

INDIANAPOLIS – When her and said vision screening had revealed he would need bifocals, Kailey Welch was shocked. He was only 12.

Sure, she wore prescription lenses herself, but she didn’t start until she was well into adulthood. To her greater surprise, three of Welch’s seven other children also have needed glasses. Today, the four oldest of the eight children in her blended family must wear glasses for up-close work.

The likely reason, according to her doctor: devices, both at home and at school.

Now, the mother closely monitors the younger four children’s screen time and tries to ensure that the older four wear glasses when reading.

“I’m definitely paying more attention to it,” Welch said.

So are eye specialists. The Welch family represents a trend they have been watching with some alarm for the past decade: a steep increase in the number of children who need corrective lenses.

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What might be contributing to the problem?

Genetics alone cannot explain such differences. So specialists suggest it’s a combination of factors, starting with screen use.

“There’s probably a partial truth in there,” said Epley, a pediatric ophthalmologist in Kirkland, Washington, of the tendency to blame screens.

Exposure to sunshine, however, may be just as important if not more, experts are beginning to believe. Again, it’s not clear exactly why, but natural sunlight appears to stabilize vision regardless of whether a person uses screens.

In addition, when a child is outside playing, that is time he or she is not bent over a screen, making outdoor time even more important, the experts say.

Studies suggest that exposing the eye to a spectrum of light may prevent the development and progression of myopia, but yet again, it’s unclear why, Epley said.

Skeptics may note that children have been reading books for centuries and that has not had as great an impact, but screens are not exactly equivalent.

In general close work, whether staring at a screen or a book, strains eyes. When a person reads, however, he or she tends to hold the book farther away than a phone or tablet, perhaps because books are bigger.

Holding objects close to the eye flexes muscles in the eye that may wind up telling the body to grow the eyeball, Jones said. While the eyeball naturally lengthens over time and a certain amount of growth each year is expected, screen use may speed up the process, resulting in myopia.

Eventually, a person may develop high myopia, which in addition to requiring him or her to wear corrective lenses raises the risk later in life of complications such as retinal detachment, premature cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration. Read the full story here.

Myopia in kids is soaring – and screen time isn’t the only factor

The number of kids with myopia (nearsightedness) is soaring – and screen time isn’t the only factor