ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — As you start checking off your child’s back-to-school list, don’t forget about scheduling important visits to their doctors.
Ophthalmologists recommend kids get annual eye exams once a year, even if they don’t have any known issues.
7News Health and Wellness Reporter Victoria Sanchez spoke with the president of the American Optometric Association who said over the last decade, cases of nearsightedness doubled. One main reason is the increase in screen time.
“This up close activity can lead to nearsightedness because your brain says, ‘You know, I’m tired of having to strain to see up close, let’s just make you nearsighted where it’s comfortable.’ Then you trade out one problem for the next because now their distance is blurry and they’re going to have to wear glasses or contact lenses full-time,” explained Dr. Steven Reed, American Optometric Association president.
Reed said it can do more than just physical damage.
“But also think if you’re a child in school and you don’t see well, you don’t have the chance to perform like your classmates do, and one of the things we see often is a child that has focusing issues, focusing disorders, maybe farsightedness, and the child looks totally normal, they’re on the playground, they’re interacting with their friends. Yet, when it comes to learning, their eyes bother them when they try to read,” Reed said. “Because of that, this aversion to learning could actually result in them being labeled maybe as a slow learner when in fact, they’re not. Or, because they chose to act up in the classroom, they may do that as a result of not wanting to learn, they could be labeled as having some type of behavioral disorder. The important part of that is not only can these vision disorders can affect a child during their grade school years, but actually can affect them throughout their whole life.”
Regarding screen time, Dr. Reed suggests using the “20-20-20” rule for children and adults. For every 20 minutes of screen time or up-close work, stop and look at something 20 feet or farther away, and do that for 20 seconds or more.
This technique will help prevent eye strain and give your eyes a much-needed rest.
