Referective Errors in Children

1. Upper limit for the duration of TV watching /day should be < 1 hour/day.
2. Take a break for 5 minutes after 20 minutes of TV/PC/Laptop/Reading etc activities.
3. Minimum distance from the TV should be 6 feet and from the laptop should be 1 feet.
4. Encourage the child to play in the garden/open ground especially in bright sunlight.
5. Sunlight protects child from myopia – let sunlight brighten your houses.
6. In house -artificial light- CFL/Incadescent has no impact on myopic progression.
7. Rubbing of eyes is associated with increase in astigmatism, so avoid rubbing.
8. Balanced diet (vegetables/salad/fruits/milk etc) is necessary but does not affect refractive errors.
9. Wear spectacle full time. Full correction with spectacles reduces defocus and progression of myopia.
10. If progression is rapid (> 0.5 diopter/6months), atropine eye drops, progressive addition lenses, monovision and recently introduced (not commercially available) bioptic contact lenses can arrest / slow down the progression.
11. Ideal age to dispense contact lenses for children is > 14 years age.
12. Ideal age to surgically correct (LASERs etc) the refractive error is >18 years.
13. Eye exercises / yoga / homeopathy / acupuncture do not have an effect on myopia progression!
14. Parents having glasses / one child having spects is a risk factor, other children in the family must get an eye check up by 1 year of age to rule-out refractive errors.

Disclaimer: Above guidelines are based on current scientific literature and our experience.