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  CBC News

Is your child's eyesight getting worse? 

It could be due to online learning, experts say.  

Worsening myopia could be linked to online learning, 

study finds.

  Dr Albert Ng points to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Ophthalmology that found "home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to be associated with a significant myopic shift for children aged six to eight years."   

2021 Journal of American Medical Association, JAMA: Chinese study suggests link between online learning and rapidly worsening nearsightedness.

Researchers in China compared annual eye screenings of 123,535 children aged six to 13 from 2015 to 2020. They found alarming rates of myopia progression in children in a region that was locked down for six months. Some needed corrective lenses 1.4 to three times higher than they had needed in the previous five years before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Debbie Jones, a clinical professor at the School of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of Waterloo, says kids who need high lens prescriptions for myopia at an early age run the risk of even more serious eye conditions when they get older. 

"With high prescriptions, there's all sorts of risks of long term effects, such as cataracts, glaucoma, retinal degeneration that can have a significant impact on vision," she said.

"Also, the impact of higher prescriptions is they may be less eligible for refractive surgery, for example laser surgery, when they're older or the results may be less successful."  

She recommends children see an eye specialist early and often and that screen time be limited if possible or simply take a break every 20 minutes.

While Dr Ng does prescribe (AOK Eye Braces) corrective lenses and special drops (Atropine) that can slow myopia in children — he agrees there are simple solutions that could help improve their vision and eye health down the road.

"First of all, number one is to get outside," he said.

"So, if they have a break one to one and a half hours outside, the bright light helps reduce the risk of progression in myopia."

Source: CBC News

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