This week Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Vanessa Hernandez about nearsightedness in children. Dr. Hernandez is an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and a pediatric optometrist at MUSC.
TRANSCRIPT:
Conner: I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio with Health Focus here at the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Studies have found that outdoor playtime for children, on a regular basis, can reduce the chances that they will develop nearsightedness or myopia. Doctor Vanessa Hernandez is here to talk about the details. Doctor Hernandez is an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and she's a pediatric optometrist at MUSC. Doctor Hernandez, tell us about nearsightedness.
Dr. Hernandez: Nearsightedness simply means that things are in focus for you at near and you see blurry in the distance. And the more nearsighted you are, the closer you'll have to bring an object to be able to see it, which means that the distance vision gets more blurry. There has been a rapid global rise in the prevalence of myopia, with estimations of about 30% of the population having myopia and expectations of it going up by 50% by 2050.
Conner: What causes myopia in children, or what are the risk factors for this eye condition?
Dr. Hernandez: As far as the factors at play, there's certainly a few components. Genetic is a big one. The increased risk of myopia with each parent who has myopia and then different environmental factors. Typically, it happens more as a toddler, with the greatest growth of the myopia happening between 6 to 12 years old. But it can continue to progress into their 20s.
Conner: And is it important to catch this early?
Dr. Hernandez: So, the earlier that myopia develops, there's a greater risk for high myopia development, which can lead to further issues with their eyesight and their vision down the road, so it's certainly better to diagnose myopia earlier.
Conner: And what is the treatment if a child does develop myopia?
Dr. Hernandez: Typically, we treat myopia with conventional glasses or contact lenses. But if the child's myopia is progressing rapidly, there are some new special treatments, such as certain eye drops or specialty contact lenses or glasses that prevent the eye from growing too much.
Conner: Why is it important to try and prevent myopia or nearsightedness in children?
Dr. Hernandez: So, the reason that we're trying to prevent myopia, particularly high myopia, is that it causes a lot of stretching and thinning of tissues, which can lead to problems down the road that can lead to vision loss. And those risks will remain even if that person were to do Lasik or other types of refractive surgery. So, it's important to pay attention to our children's vision early.
Conner: And what can be done to try and prevent myopia in kids.
Dr. Hernandez: The best recommendation would be to increase outdoor time and limit near activity. Increasing outdoor time to 1 to 2 hours per day is what's recommended. The outdoor time might increase certain chemicals that play a role in eye growth. Or it could be as simple as since they're looking further away, they're not having to stress the focus of their eye. And, limiting near activities so that they're holding reading material further away from their face, and then also taking frequent breaks every 20 minutes, looking about 20ft away for about 20 seconds.
Conner: Doctor Hernandez, thanks for this update about nearsightedness in kids.
Dr. Hernandez: You're welcome.
Conner: From the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio.
Health Focus transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of Health Focus programming.
