The Australian College of Optometry said the average age of diagnosis had dropped from 12 to eight years, with causes attributed to excessive use of screens and not enough time being spent outdoors.
Eyecare Plus Chullora, Bankstown and Roselands owner optometrist, Soojin Nam, said optometrists could detect early signs of a problem before the child became myopic and there were options you could take to stop or delay the onset.
She said myopia was more prevalent among city children as those in the country enjoyed lifestyles spent more outdoors and sunlight was essential for healthy vision, with the last few years of lockdowns particularly hard on young children’s eyes.
The problem with being myopic is that the eyeball gets longer which could damage the retina (the layers of the back of the eyes), increasing the risk of blindness.
She said it was important for children to spend one or two hours outside daily and limit screen time before and after school.
“A lot of parents think, my child is just short-sighted so we’ll get a pair of single vision lenses, but there are so many more options for optical correction these days that will reduce myopia progression by around 50 per cent,” she said.
“See your local optometrist and have a good chat about what the best options are for your child. Don’t forget to have regular check-ups.”
Child vision crisis over screen time, less sun
WITH an estimated 36 per cent of Australians already affected, optometrists are warning of a myopia epidemic as the proportion of children presenting with short-sightedness has almost doubled.
