Mr Francis Low, owner of First Contact Lens Centre, shares how childhood myopia can affect your child’s development and how parents can help to control its progression.
Hey parents, ever noticed your child constantly rubbing their eyes, squinting or have difficulty reading? Or have they complained about discomfort in their eyes due to bright lights, or when they sit too close to the television? If so, these signs may indicate that your child might have myopia.
In case you didn’t know, according to Dr Lam Pei Min, Senior Minister of State for Health, Singapore has the highest rate of myopia globally, with over 80% of adults suffering from it… Eek! In fact, by the age of 12, one in two children will develop myopia. And, young children who develop myopia early in life tend to have higher eye degrees and face higher risks of eye problems later in life.
Thankfully, you can counter these eye problems by protecting your child’s eyesight! Find out more about managing myopia and learn how it affects our children from Mr Francis Low, optometrist and owner of the newly refurbished First Contact Lens Centre.
Making childhood myopia a priority
Other than short-sightedness, myopia can cause other problems for kids. “Not being able to see well can affect a child’s academic ability as they struggle to pay attention and are unable to focus,” explains Mr Low. “Having poor eyesight can also, at times, result in poor hand-eye coordination. All of these can affect the child’s confidence, so, seeing well is important in supporting healthy development in children.”
In addition, biological and environmental factors play a big role in myopia progression. The key culprit? Screen time. With home-based learning becoming a fixture in curriculum and children spending more time in front of their screens, research has shown that the risks of myopia progression increases, too.
Take Control of Your Child’s Eye Health
Thankfully, we can encourage our children to practice good eye care habits to prevent and slow the progression of myopia.
Mr Low recommends reducing time spent on homework, especially on digital devices. One great way to start is to take short three to five-minute breaks looking out into the open after every 45 minutes of work. Plus, he highly recommends parents encourage their kids to spend more time outdoors, as it has been proven to slow down the progression of myopia, as published in Acta Ophthalmologica, a medical journal in ophthalmology.
Not only that, but it’s also critical to take your child for regular eye health checks. Why? Because they may not realise that their sight is impaired unless flagged by their school’s eye screening program. “Taking your child to get their eye health checked once every six to 12 months can allow an eye health professional to detect signs of myopia earlier and introduce any control methods to slow down the rate of progression,” says Mr Low.
Choosing First Contact Lens Centre for your family’s eye health needs
Though many parents aren’t familiar with what an eye health check entails, First Contact Lens Centre is there to help! Here’s what happens when you visit: experienced eye health professionals will evaluate not only your child’s vision prescription but also many other aspects of their eye health to detect any abnormalities. Plus, they’ll also talk to you and your child to determine the vision correction method that best suits your child’s lifestyle and needs.
But First Contact Lens Centre’s services are not just limited to kids. In fact, most adults start to notice their vision changing and experience symptoms of presbyopia in their late 30s and early 40s, which can be detected and managed early with regular eye health checks.
So, to provide customers with the very best eye health care supported by the latest technologies and innovations, First Contact Lens Centre has partnered with Acuvue to launch a brand new Acuvue Oasys with Transitions concept store – it’s one of only two worldwide! To celebrate the store’s reopening at Thomson Plaza, customers can enjoy $20 off when using the promotional code “SGFCLC20” when using the MyAcuvue app. New MyAcuvue members can also receive a $20 Welcome Reward.
Besides providing state-of-the-art eye health care, First Contact Lens Centre also makes learning about eye health fun for the entire family! Before entering the store, children can learn about eye health at the interactive motion sensor wall to experience how the light-adaptive Acuvue Oasys with Transitions contact lens work.
Families can also play the in-store racing simulator and experience how the contact lenses adapt seamlessly to different light conditions as they race around the Marina Bay circuit. If you come in first, second, or third, you’ll be rewarded up to $15 discount on any purchase of Acuvue contact lenses in-store instantly.
First Contact Lens Centre is located at 301 Upper Thomson Rd, #01-63/64 Thomson Plaza, Singapore 574408.
This post was sponsored by Acuvue.