- Children’s excessive phone use causes blindness
- Young kids wearing special lenses for myopia
- Outdoor activity essential to prevent eye problems
Leading ophthalmologists warn that an alarming number of children are at risk of developing blindness due to their excessive reliance on mobile phones for viewing purposes and insufficient time spent outdoors.
In the United Kingdom, children as young as four are donning specialised contact lenses to combat the escalating issue of physicians increasingly diagnosing adolescents with the most severe form of myopia.
The rising concern in mobile phone usage is believed to be caused by children focusing insufficiently on distant objects during daylight hours while straining to examine their devices closely.
Dr John Bolger, director of a private eye clinic in North London and a consultant ophthalmologist, is extremely concerned about the epidemic-like increase in children developing myopia or short-sightedness.
He stated, “An increasing number of children with myopia are presenting at the clinic.” It is continually ascending. I am unable to discern any indication of deceleration.
Myopia is not simply the need to wear corrective lenses; it can even cause blindness. This is a grave peril, not a trivial occurrence.
The surgeon elaborated that prolonged screen time can result in ocular elongation and that the Covid-19 pandemic has further intensified this issue, which he termed “a pandemic of myopia.”
Insufficient outdoor activity also impedes a child’s access to natural light, a crucial factor in modulating ocular development and mitigating the likelihood of developing myopia.
‘We’ve had students report that they remained indoors the entire front door for four or five days during lockdown, and I’m certain that many of them would not be myopic if lockdown had not occurred,’ he continued.
“Children as young as four or five years old wear contact lenses, and some have as many as twenty prescriptions; this presents them with tremendously difficult-to-live-with circumstances.” It is not simple. It is indisputable that this constitutes a disability.
According to Dr. Bolger, some of his youthful patients slumber while donning specialised contact lenses that alter the corneal shape. It inhibits the advancement of myopia and restores normal vision upon awakening.
Prince William urged individuals to reduce their time on their mobile devices last week while attending the inauguration of a new youth centre in White City, London. He stated, “We must do better in this regard.”
Upon a child confessing to engaging in excessive scrolling, he remarked, “Even adults are guilty of it.”
According to research, the prevalence of myopia in the United Kingdom has doubled in the last half-century, and children are developing the condition at an earlier age; more than a quarter of 15- to 16-year-olds now have myopia.
According to consultant ophthalmologist at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Dr Irfan Jeeva, an increasing number of minors have required corrective eyewear for short-sighted vision in recent years.
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“It is without a doubt the result of excessive screen time.” Reading closely requires children to strain their eyes, and they now spend very little time outdoors. Certain youthful patients under my care have profound myopia, which significantly impairs their quality of life.
“The only regions worldwide where myopia is not on the rise are agricultural communities where children spend the entire day outdoors, constantly adjusting their focus from distant to nearby objects.”
Parents must strike a balance between limiting their children’s electronic time for entertainment and ensuring they spend as much time as possible outdoors in natural light.
