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Parents practically have back-to-school down to a science. Backpack" Check. Proper footwear" Got ?em. Lunchboxes and many, many lunch ideas" You bet. But did you know that you should be adding getting an eye exam to the list of things your kids need before school starts" It?s important not only for general eye health but also because nearsightedness in children has increased dramatically in recent years1. Also called myopia, this eye condition means that while you can see objects close to you clearly, objects that are further away are blurry. It often begins in childhood and adolescence and worsens to about the age of 20. According to one recent study of more than 120,000 children, the prevalence of myopia increased up to three times in 2020 compared to the previous five years and was especially noted in children ages six to eight2. What causes myopia"
Myopia happens when the length of the eyeball grows too long, or the cornea (the transparent part of the eye that covers the iris and pupil) is too curved, causing the light that enters the eye to not focus properly on the retina (the sensory layer within the eye). While family history is a part of it?a child has a one in three chance of developing nearsightedness if one parent is also nearsighted3?lifestyle factors also play a role. Spending a great deal of time indoors4,5, using your near vision (looking at things close up) a lot through reading and having lots of screen time with ...