Specialist in pediatric ophthalmology Luiza Paulo Filho reports an increase in the attendance of myopic children and warns those responsible in the celebrated month of literacy
November 14 is National Literacy Day and in Brazil alone, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are 59 million people with myopia and information from the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) 2.2 million children aged between 6 and 14 years old. year olds have some difficulty seeing and, therefore, the importance of preventing eye health from childhood.
Pediatric ophthalmologist Luiza Paulo Filho warns parents:
“The demands of the office have increased, it is disturbing to see several children in a day and most of them leave with a prescription to use myopia glasses or to renew the prescription due to an increase in degree. Some of them, due to their lack of attention in the classroom, were in the process of being investigated for the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as a chronic neurobiological disorder characterized by inattention, impulsivity and motor agitation, when in fact, this difficulty in concentrating was due to the difficulty in seeing them. This is one of the reasons for private schools to request the ophthalmological report for children at the beginning of the school year”.
The pediatric ophthalmology specialist adds: care must be taken when using electronic devices such as cell phones and tablets, as they emit blue radiation that can cause fatigue, visual strain, headaches and insomnia by changing the metabolism of the sleep hormone, melatonin.
In the consultation, when talking to parents and children about how harmful the use of screens is, doctor Luiza Paulo Filho sees the parents’ immediate look at the children as a “corrective look”. However, it is curious and ironic to note that those responsible for children themselves lack the example at home and in medical care itself. The specialist always talks and guides parents about the model of their behavior in the use of electronics, because if it is difficult for adults, imagine for children?
According to the specialist of Pediatric Ophthalmology, laboratories that produce glasses lenses, observing the growing knowledge about blue radiation and the stimulation of myopia due to screens, offer parents the opportunity to buy lenses with the blue blocking filter of radiation and special lenses. which guarantee the stagnation of the growth rate.
What symptoms or behaviors should parents and teachers watch out for in children?
The main responsibility is the parents, they should find time to experience the beauty of motherhood/fatherhood. It is interesting that the disciplinary team of the school helps them in this observation in the school environment. So, it is necessary to be aware of the child’s low performance in school, children who cannot concentrate on their studies, observe if their children are watching TV “glued to the TV”, if they keep their eyes too much close to the tablet or mobile screen or with the “forced” appearance by partially closing them, the presence of excessive tearing or sensitivity to lighting.
What is the right time to use screens for each age group?
We follow the guidelines of the Brazilian Association of Pediatrics. For babies from 0 to 2 years old, the use of electronic screens is not recommended, as this stage is the time of greatest visual development, estimated to be 90%. So when people leave their smartphones or tablets to distract or stop the child from crying, in this age group up to 2 years old, this is stimulating something negative in the child and will have consequences throughout the child’s life, such as visual dysfunction and subsequent addiction.with glasses. Luiza Paulo Filho added
The recommendations for use are: 2-5 years 1 hour a day, 6-10 years 2 hours a day and 11-18 years up to 3 hours a day, interspersed.
