Childhood nearsightedness is on the rise, officials say

JACKSON, Tenn. — Children’s lifestyles are changing and so are their eyes.

Since 2005, the percentage of tweens with their own phones has more than doubled and preteens now spend about 5-and-a-half hours daily on digital screens.

This often comes at the expense of outdoor activity, when children aged 8 to 12 should be spending at least 90 minutes outdoor daily.

Myopia, where the eye grows too long and causes nearsightedness, is reaching epidemic levels and putting kids’ long-term eye health at risk.

If you notice warning signs, it’s important to get children in for an eye exam to diagnose and treat myopia as early as possible.

“What parents may notice is that the child is just struggling to see an object or maybe wording out in the distance so many times the child will be squinting. They may move more closely to the object to see it more clearly as well as complain of frequent headaches or just overall eye fatigue,” said Dr. Felicia Timmermann.

Treatments include lifestyle modifications like decrease digital device time and increased outdoor time as well as FDA-approved contact lens treatment.

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