MyopiaΒ Symptoms and How To Treat
Treehouse EyesΒ is a specialty pediatric eye care practice treatingΒ myopicΒ children with aΒ nationwide network of doctors. Recently, doctors in our Treehouse Eyes community had theΒ chance to spread the word about myopia with local media coverage.
Our doctors are passionate about spreading awareness about theΒ myopia epidemicΒ and how early intervention can mean aΒ lot for your childβs eye health. Explore some of the topics our peers covered in recent interviews.
How To Tell If Your Child Is Nearsighted
Itβs not always simple to detect whether or not your child is nearsighted. Watching out for theΒ common symptomsΒ of myopia is key to determining whether or not your child needs treatment.
Treehouse Eyes partner, Dr. Aimee Jacobs OD, discusses someΒ signs to look out for.Β Dr. Jacobs explains, βIf theyβre having trouble focusing in school if they canβt stay on task if itΒ seems like it might be a behavior issue, a lot of times itβs because they canβt see what theyβreΒ doing or they canβt see what theyβre doing well enough to focus on it.β
Screen Time As a Risk Factor
As screen time increases, so does the early onset of myopia. Treehouse Eyes has observed aΒ 30 percent increaseΒ in the number of myopic children being treated since the pandemic began.
Dr. Tiffany Martinez recalls theΒ effects of the pandemic on children, βDuring the pandemic, weΒ saw a lot more kids they we saw become myopic than we did before.β This is due to theΒ decreased time outdoors and increases inΒ near work.
Another Treehouse Eyes partner, Dr. Ryan Stybel describes theΒ effects of too much βnear workβ,Β βScreen time or near work is causing myopia to start at an earlier age but also progress moreΒ rapidly.β
He then goes on to explain the implications of COVID isolation, βWeβre just getting through aΒ pandemic, myopia is an epidemic, especially with the increased screen time and virtual learning.
Limiting screen time is a very important thing and taking frequent breaks and spending timeΒ outdoors. We recommend 90 minutes a day outdoors to use the natural sunlight and looking atΒ distant objects can be beneficial and help their eyes from getting worse.β
What To Look For As a Parent
Myopia is a treatable and preventable disease, annual eye exams are highly recommendedΒ because oftentimes children are unable to articulate their symptoms to a parent.
Dr. Denise Smith, a Treehouse Eyes doctor featured onΒ KVUE-TVΒ in Austin, Texas providesΒ some tips on how to detect myopia, βParents can be looking for if the child is squinting, if theyΒ canβt see the board at school they might be complaining of headaches, or holding books closerΒ to their face holding their phone closer, maybe getting closer to the television.β
So why is it essential to go through myopia management and treatment rather than just gettingΒ glasses? Dr. Smith explains whyΒ myopia treatmentΒ is critical, βIf the child is diagnosed withΒ myopia, just getting glasses can help them see clearly, but will not do anything to stop theΒ progression or prevent the eyeball from getting longer. So you want to be able to have thoseΒ specialized treatments to actually stop that process which in turn can prevent sight-threateningΒ disorders later on.β
Let Treehouse Eyes Help Manage Your Childβs Myopia
Treating myopia early is crucial to prevent childrenβs vision from getting worse. Our mission is toΒ give children better vision for life so children can have a life advantage to being able toΒ participate in more activities. Myopia management also provides a lower risk for future vision-relatedΒ diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, and cataracts. If you are worried thatΒ your child might have myopia,Β schedule an appointmentΒ nowΒ to talk to our doctors and find out how we can help your child manage myopia.
Dr. Chris Browning is a Greenwood native, who has been serving the community through glaucoma care and myopia management. He studied at Indiana University Bloomington and the Indiana University School of Optometry. As he has severe nearsightedness himself, Dr. Browning is passionate about helping others to achieve excellent vision.