Children's Vision Month

PAG E 2 VISION MONTH B ear in mind that these are the most recent available statistics on the use of media devices among kids. Back in 2009, studies indicated usage among children eight to 18 had gone up from an average of 6.19 hours per day in 1999 to 7.38 hours per day. Seven years later, those startling figures have surely increased dramatically. That over- usage has seen a vision-related issue crop up among children, said doctor of optometry Dr. Brooks Barteaux. "It's called computer vision syndrome," he said. "Basically, sitting in front of a computer or tablet screen or looking at the small screen (and print) of a smartphone stresses a child's eyes because the screen causes the child's vision system to focus and strain more than it would with any other task. Because they're exerting such a great effort to focus, that puts a greater accommodative load on their eyes, which could cause problems." Those problems — caused at least in part by a reduced blink rate — could crop up in the form of dry eyes, headaches, fatigue and blurred vision. Because children tend to get immersed in whatever they do, they might not notice those overuse symptoms, or, because they're so adaptive, just assume that they're normal. "That's why it's so important for parents to watch their kids, especially younger ones, as much as possible," said Barteaux. "And for older kids, you simply have to limit screen time. A good rule of thumb is the 20-20-20 rule. Train your kids to take a break every 20 minutes. That means, every 20 minutes, have them look away from the computer for 20 seconds to take a look at objects at least 20 feet away. That will help minimize focusing problems and eye irritation." There are other things parents can do to minimize computer vision syndrome in their kids. First, if your kids use a desktop computer at a workstation in the home, make sure the distance between the monitor and their eyes is 18-28 inches; a screen closer than 18 inches away can cause eye strain. Next, to reduce glare, turn down the brightness of the screen, shade windows and turn down lighting to match the intensity of the computer screen. Above all, try to build in a mix of tasks during a child's day to reduce screen time. Ideally, media-related tasks (computers/tablets, watching TV, texting) should be limited to less than two hours a day. "You have to train children to listen to their body," he added. "It's all about self-awareness. If their eyes are starting to burn while looking at a screen, it's time to do something else." Why all the fuss about computer vision syndrome in kids? Simple: at this point in time, doctors of optometry, while short on concrete, long-term data, strongly suspect too much screen time could have adverse effects on kids' vision in the long-term. "In the last 10 years or so, we've gotten into a whole new world of unprecedented visual demand for kids," Barteaux said. "Because media device overuse is such a recent phenomenon, we really don't know what the long-term implications are." That said, doctors of optometry have a pretty good idea of what those implications could be. "At the very least, the increased eye strain in kids could lead to an increase in myopia (nearsightedness). And because the various devices emit blue light that may damage young, developing eyes, kids could suffer an increased risk of eye disease later in life," he said. "The problem is that usage of devices among kids is only going to increase, and that's not good." That's why it's critical to schedule regular (yearly) eye exams. "Yearly exams from an early age will give us a clear picture of how a child's eyes are developing," said Barteaux. "Not only can we detect issues such as near-sightedness and astigmatism, but we can also detect overuse problems so we can catch them early on and prescribe the proper treatment. Regular check-ups are more important than ever due to all the time kids are spending on media devices." Be careful with screen time BY TODD LEWYS It's a statistic, on the surface, that seems quite innocuous. In 2009, 29 per cent of American children age eight to 18 had their own laptop computer. Moreover, children in grades seven through 12 reported they spent more than 90 minutes per day sending and receiving texts on their smartphones. COMPUTER VISION SYNDROME CAN RESULT IN DRY EYES, HEADACHES, FATIGUE OR BLURRED VISION. / iSTOCK PHOTO DR. ROSS MOORE DR. STEVE MAZUR DR. DARREN CONNOR E S TA B L I S H E D I N 1 9 2 0 Noon Hour Appointments Available Providing Quality Eye Care and Eyewear for Close to 100 Years Specializing in Eye Muscle Imbalance with Locations in Downtown Winnipeg and Winkler WINNIPEG 204.942.0059 WINKLER 204.325.8986 www.drrossmoore.ca

• Cover