Scary trend: why is myopia rising among children?

According to some media reports, a sharp rise in myopia among children has been observed in during August 12, 2021. The survey suggests that there has been a 25% rise in early cases and 100% among advanced cases for children with myopia has been. Doctors from reputed eye care hospitals, who have reported the sudden increase, were all alarmed at the sharp rise in the number of young eye patients.  

What is myopia and why is it rising? 
Myopia is an eye condition where objects at a distance are not clearly visible and a person must wear corrective spectacles to see them. It’s also called near-sightedness or short-sightedness. Doctors have also noticed that there is a similar rise in numbers for esotropia (cross eye), sometimes in the same child.  

Doctors are attributing the rise in myopia cases to the lockdown. Forced to study as well as get entertained by digital devices, most kids are staring closely at flickering screens, for way too long every day. This is augmented by the fact that children are less aware of health hazards, so their sitting posture is all wrong and they are often sitting too close to the screen or playing with a smart phone on the bed for hours.  

Other factors include lack of exposure to sunlight, reduced physical activity, and in some cases, a lack of fresh fruits and vegetables in the diet.  

What can be done to counter myopia? 
The first step all doctors suggest is eye check-up for kids, a thought that sometimes do not occur to parents as they normally associate eye disorders with grown-ups.  The next step is reducing screen time by fixing daily screen hours and increase viewing distance from laptops, computers and TV. Doctors also advice that children should be encouraged to play, to listen to music, be exposed to sunlight, and practice light exercise or yoga. Children’s diet should include carrots, green veggies, fresh fish and eggs for better eye health. In fact, August 2021 is being observed as Eye Safety Month for children.