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Eye Care Guide

With the start of the new semester, what should parents and children do to protect their eye health? Cultivate good habits for eye use and protection, preserve far-sightedness reserves, and avoid vision impairment. Please keep the following practical tips in mind.


Maintain Proper Posture to Prevent Fatigue, Use Eyes Moderately and Relax Often

Incorrect sitting postures, such as hunching, leaning, or lying down while studying, can bring the child's eyes too close to the screen, easily leading to eye fatigue. Children should remember the "One Fist, One Foot, One Inch" rule: maintain a distance of one fist (the width of a clenched fist) between the chest and the desk, keep the eyes at least one foot (about 33 centimeters) away from the book, and hold the pen with the fingers one inch (about 3.3 centimeters) from the tip.


Additionally, children should follow the "20-20-20" rule for eye use: every 20 minutes of screen time, look at something 20 feet (about 6 meters) away for 20 seconds to help relax the eyes.


Ensure a Bright Environment for Eye Use and Limit Electronic Device Usage

Children should use their eyes in a well-lit environment. Set up a reading area at home with even and bright lighting, avoiding reading in dim surroundings. If the light is insufficient, turn on overhead lights or use a desk lamp.


Simultaneously, children should minimize prolonged use of electronic devices. Opt for larger screens during study time. For non-study purposes, limit each session to 15 minutes or less, with a daily total not exceeding 1 hour. When using electronic devices, maintain a distance of at least 70 centimeters from the computer, 30 centimeters from the phone, and four times the screen's diagonal length from the TV.


Maintain a Balanced Diet and Adequate Sleep

Good nutrition and sufficient sleep are essential for children's eye health. Parents should ensure a diverse diet rich in protein, calcium, and vitamins. Protein aids in the repair and growth of eye tissues, while calcium is a vital component of the eye's internal structure. Fresh fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins A, C, and E, beneficial for the eyes. Limit sugary foods and carbonated drinks, as they may not only affect the eyes but also blood sugar levels and overall health.


Adequate sleep is equally important for children's eye health. During sleep, the eyes get ample rest, helping prevent visual fatigue and other eye problems.


Embrace Outdoor Activities and Stay Active

Encourage children to participate in outdoor activities. "Sunbathing" for the eyes is the simplest, most effective, and economical method for myopia prevention. Studies show that increasing children's outdoor activities by 40 minutes per day can reduce the incidence of myopia by 23% within three years.


Therefore, children should aim for at least 2 hours of outdoor time daily or a cumulative 14 hours per week. Outdoor activities can be intermittent, increasing the frequency and variety, such as daytime extracurricular activities, outdoor classes, taking breaks to walk around during class intervals, and walking to and from school.


The key to outdoor activities is being outdoors during daylight hours, regardless of the activity. Simply being in sunny outdoor spaces, even without engaging in specific activities, can help prevent myopia.


Choose suitable outdoor venues for optimal efficiency. Brightly lit playgrounds, football fields, and open spaces are ideal. Corridors and shaded areas also provide good lighting, and playgrounds are suitable too. Recent research suggests that effective outdoor activities should be conducted in areas with a brightness of over 2000 lux, lasting for at least 15 minutes each time. On cloudy or dim days, longer outdoor time may be necessary for better vision protection.


Establish an Optometry Archive to Detect Myopia Early

Vision and eye development have different normal values at different ages. We encourage parents to prioritize establishing an optometry development archive for their children. This provides valuable information on the child's refractive development status, whether they have sufficient far-sightedness reserves, whether intervention is needed, and the effectiveness of such interventions, enabling doctors and parents to devise personalized myopia management plans.


If monitoring reveals rapid depletion of far-sightedness reserves, be vigilant for myopia and seek timely intervention. It is recommended that children have their vision checked every 3 months or half a year, and the examination frequency should be adjusted by a doctor upon detecting any abnormalities.