Nowadays, more and more parents wonder what causes rapid myopia in children. It's an understandable question. It's all too common to see kids wearing glasses or putting away contact lens solution in a desk drawer, and in many cases, their myopia increases rapidly.
Let's first face the facts. Myopia, more generally known as near-or shortsightedness, is a frequent eye ailment. This condition comes about when the eyeball is elongated. Nearsightedness often goes together with eyestrain, tiredness and headaches, when you have to concentrate on something that's more than a few feet away.
One severe form of myopia is degenerative myopia, also called pathologic myopia. When people talk about rapid myopia, they often mean pathologic myopia, though a rapid increase does not necessarily mean it's caused by this particular form of shortsightedness. Any, degenerative myopia becomes worse over time, and could even lead to blindness. It is usually an genetic condition that develops in adolescence (approximately age twelve).
So if you want to know what causes rapid myopia in children, you will likely think of heredity. Generics play a big role in myopia altogether. Chances are, if one of your parents is myopic, you will be, too. And if both parents are myopic, there's even more of a chance you'll be.
However, heredity is not the sole myopia cause. In today's society, children pass a lot of time indoors doing activities like watching the telly, playing video games or gazing at a computer screen. There's a recent study that indicates kids who spend more time outside are less myopic or do not suffer as much from rapid myopia than those who spend more time indoors.
This is all easy to explain. When you spend a lot of time concentrating on objects at close range, your eye begins to compensate by elongating and by doing so, it does not have to work as hard. By the way, it's not just electronics that may lead to nearsightedness. Any time you focus on something close up for a long time period, your eyes can be affected. Playing with things that are small, like constructing models, for example, can increase myopia.
Now you know what causes rapid myopia in children. But what can you do to stop it? Since heredity is often a cause and probably the major cause, some of it is out of your control. However, there are changes in lifestyle you are able to make that will help prevent nearsightedness from progressing too quickly, and that keep your eyes as fit as possible.
A few tips:
When your kid is concentrating on something close, like a computer screen, tell him or her to take regular breaks to give the eyes some rest. It is also really important that your child spends more time outdoors. This will improve the physical condition as a whole and is good for nearsighted eyes. You can try doing some eye exercises. Contrary to what some will tell you, they can not correct myopia, but eye exercises can help your eye muscles remain forceful.