Chinanews client, Beijing, June 6 (Reporter Zhang Ni) Today is the National Eye Day. Our country is the world's largest country with myopia, and the problem of young people's "small glasses" is even more prominent.
People often say that "eyes are the window of the soul". In today's day with the theme of caring for the eyes, let us all take care of our "window of the soul".
Data map: The doctor performs an eye examination (photo provided)
The first myopic country! The number of myopia patients in China reaches 600 million
How many people in China suffer from myopia?
The World Health Organization's previous research report showed that there are as many as 600 million myopia patients in China, and the rate of myopia among adolescents ranks first in the world.
China has become the world's largest nearsighted country.
What is even more worrying is the young people—the results of the National Survey on Myopia in Children and Adolescents show that the overall myopia rate of children and adolescents nationwide was 53.6% in 2018 and 50.2% in 2019.
Affected by home isolation and online classrooms during the epidemic, the overall myopia rate of children and adolescents across the country will increase slightly in 2020 compared with 2019.
In addition, in addition to the high incidence, the proportion of high myopia among domestic children and adolescents is also on the rise.
According to the "Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Myopia in Children and Adolescents" issued by the National Health Commission, myopia above 600 degrees is considered high myopia.
According to the survey data released by the National Health Commission, the proportion of high myopia in the third grade of the country reached 21.9% in 2018.
A huge hidden danger behind this is that once adolescents develop high myopia, they will greatly increase the risk of various eye diseases and even blindness in the future.
Data map: On June 3, senior students of Shanxi Taiyuan Second Foreign Language School were attending classes in the school to prepare for the upcoming 2021 college entrance examination.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Yun
Watching electronic products for too long? The myopia rate of primary and middle school students increased during the epidemic
"To truly solve the problem of myopia in children and adolescents, the most important thing is to reduce the burden, strengthen the body and regulate the use of electronic products. It requires the joint efforts of the government, society, and especially families."
Wang Dengfeng, director of the Department of Sports, Health and Art Education of the Ministry of Education, recently emphasized this when talking about myopia in children and adolescents.
Indeed, excessive eye use, especially long-term use of electronic products, has become an important cause of myopia in children.
According to the "China Children’s Development Report (2019)-Children’s Living Conditions Outside School" released in 2019, children spend an average of 43.24 minutes a day using electronic products on school days, and use electronic products for longer on weekends, with an average of 96.27 minutes .
In 2020, affected by the epidemic, online learning time for primary and middle school students will increase, and the problem of overuse of eyes will become more prominent.
According to media reports in September 2020, the results of a sample survey conducted by the Ministry of Education showed that the myopia rate of primary and secondary school students has increased by 11.7% in the past six months, of which the rate of myopia among primary school students has increased by 15.2%.
Part of the reason for this is the lack of prevention and control of myopia in children and adolescents by parents.
Data map: Pupils making woodcut prints Photo by Liu Yutao
Prevent "small glasses" from rising to the national strategy
Eye health issues are related to the healthy growth of young people and are also a major issue related to the future of the country.
In recent years, prevention and control of myopia has been elevated to a national-level strategy.
The reporter combed and found that in the three years from 2018 to the present, the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Education and other relevant departments have issued multiple documents focusing on the prevention and treatment of young people's myopia.
For example, in June 2018, the National Health Commission issued three guidelines at the same time as the "Guidelines for Prevention and Treatment of Myopia," "Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Amblyopia," and "Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Strabismus."
In August of the same year, eight departments including the Ministry of Education and the National Health Commission jointly issued the "Implementation Plan for the Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Myopia in Children and Adolescents."
The "Plan" puts forward the goal of reducing the myopia rate-by 2030, the myopia rate of 6-year-old children will be controlled at about 3%, the myopia rate of primary school students will drop to less than 38%, the myopia rate of junior high school students will drop to less than 60%, and the myopia rate of high school students will be reduced to less than 60%. The rate drops below 70%.
In October 2019, the Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention of the National Health Commission organized and issued the "Guidelines for Suitable Techniques for the Prevention and Control of Myopia in Children and Adolescents."
This year, in the announced "14th Five-Year Plan" and the 2035 long-term goal outline, it clearly mentions "effective control of childhood obesity and myopia."
Since then, in May of this year, 15 departments including the Ministry of Education jointly issued the "Child and Adolescent Myopia Prevention and Control Bright Action Work Plan (2021-2025)."
The "Plan" stipulates that, in principle, the teaching time using electronic products should not exceed 30% of the total teaching time, and in principle, paper-based assignments will be used.
The Regulations on the Protection of Schools for Minors, which will be formally implemented from September 1 this year, further proposes that schools should establish a physical fitness monitoring system for students, and discover that students are prone to malnutrition, myopia, obesity, dental caries, etc., or have a decline in physical fitness. Necessary management and intervention should be carried out for bad behaviors and habits, and parents should be notified to supervise and guide parents to implement corrections.
Data map photo by Yan Jiao
Stay away from myopia and don't ignore these details!
Myopia seriously harms the health of children and adolescents, so how to prevent myopia?
The following details in life and study need to be paid attention to:
1. The non-learning use of electronic products should not exceed 15 minutes in a single time, and the total amount should not exceed 1 hour per day; after 30-40 minutes of online learning, you should rest or look into the distance for 10 minutes to fully rest your eyes.
2. The height of the desks and chairs at home should be adjusted, and the "three ones" should be maintained when reading and writing: hand one inch away from the pen tip, eye one foot away from the book, and a punch from the chest to the desk.
3. Choose large-screen electronic products as much as possible. The priority is projectors, TVs, desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones.
4. When using electronic products, adjust the brightness until the eyes feel comfortable, not too bright or too dark.
5. When placing electronic products (such as computers), make sure that the top of the screen is flush with the eye-level line of sight.
6. Do not lie on the bed or on the sofa to study on the screen.
7. During the video learning process, consciously close and open your eyes slightly harder and move your eyes up and down to relax your eyes.
8. It is not advisable to use naked lights for home lighting, that is, not to use tubes or bulbs directly, but to use tubes or bulbs protected by a lampshade to protect the eyes from glare.
Avoid placing glass plates or other items that are prone to glare on the desk.
9. If the eyes have symptoms such as dryness, foreign body sensation, burning, itching, photophobia, jealousy, eye pain, etc., stop watching.
If the symptoms cannot be relieved, go to the hospital if necessary.
10. When children are found to have symptoms related to myopia, such as tilting their heads, frequent squinting and winking, they should rest and exercise in time, and go to the hospital if necessary.
(Finish)