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Doctors are seeing an uptick in vision problems among children they believe is fueled by tech.

Its part of a general trend, where eyesight is feeling the strain of too much screen time.

The American Optometric Association finds the number of people with vision problems has almost doubled. And its starting young.

Its a common occurrence, said Dr. James Doyle, a pediatric ophthalmologist with Lee Health. We see it frequently and were seeing it a little bit more frequently these days.

Doyle said nearsightedness is becoming much more common.

Nearsightedness is actually myopia, Doyle said. Youre in focus to things up close. You see things at near.

Parents and teachers are often first to pick up on the condition, noticing a change in the childs habits.

Many children will hold things closer because they can see them well, Doyle said. But if its constant and theyre losing interest in things in the distance, that may be an indication that theres a progression of myopia.

Doyle said it doesnt necessarily mean they still need glasses, a shift in attention may help alleviate the condition.

Studies out of Europe looked at differences between people who spent more time outdoors, focusing at a greater distance.

The people who were outside had a tendency to not progressing in myopia, and those inside had a greater degree of myopia. And that supports the concept of being outside and seeing outdoor and light helps prevent a progression of myopia, Doyle said.

Its an important reminder to log off and tune in to the world outside of the screen.

Its also worth repeating the 20-20-20 rule for screen time.

For every 20 minutes looking at a device, look away for 20 second and put your gaze at least 20 feet away.

Excerpt from:
Uptick in vision problems among children could be due to screen time - Wink News

This entry was posted on November 21, 2021 at 1:46 am and is filed under Eye Sight & Vision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |