According to the website of the Ministry of Education, in order to guide children and adolescents to use their eyes scientifically, have a regular schedule, and actively prevent myopia during winter vacation, the National Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Myopia for Children and Adolescents Lecture Team has revised and formed the 2024 Winter Vacation Multi scene Myopia Prevention and Control 20 Q&A based on previous work, providing scientific guidance for children, adolescents, and parents to answer questions.
1, Proactive Prevention: Early Detection and Prevention
Why is winter vacation a key period for myopia prevention and control?
Answer: The winter vacation is relatively long, and during the Spring Festival, there is an increase in visits to family and friends, as well as family gatherings. Children and adolescents are prone to irregular lifestyles, lack of outdoor activities, and prolonged close range eye use, which can easily lead to myopia or deepen the degree of myopia. Advocate parents to establish a scientific parenting concept, guide children and adolescents to plan their vacation life reasonably, follow a regular schedule, actively participate in physical exercise, household chores, social practice, public welfare activities, etc.
Do I need to have my vision checked during winter vacation?
Answer: Primary and secondary school students are currently in a sensitive period of refractive development. Regular visual and refractive tests can help them understand their hyperopia reserve or myopia status, achieve early detection, early warning, and early intervention. Parents should actively pay attention to their children's eye health. If they notice symptoms such as squinting, frowning, tilting their head, and decreased vision, they should promptly take their children to a formal medical institution for examination.
Why pay attention to children's farsightedness reserves?
Answer: There are millions of measures to prevent and control myopia, and prevention is the first priority. Hyperopia reserve is an important indicator for monitoring the development of refractive power. Due to premature and excessive use of close range eyes, some children and adolescents have already exhausted their hyperopia reserve by the age of 6, and are prone to developing myopia in primary school. Under normal circumstances, 6-year-old children should have a hyperopia reserve of+1.0 to+1.5D. Parents should take their children outdoors more during winter vacation, reduce their close range eye contact, and effectively protect their children's farsightedness reserves.
2, Outdoor Sports: Not Staying at Home, More Outdoor Activities
How long is outdoor activity effective in preventing myopia?
Answer: Outdoor activities are the most effective and economical way to prevent myopia. Outdoor activities can be conducted intermittently, which can increase the frequency of outdoor activities. It is recommended to engage in outdoor activities under sunlight for no less than 2 hours per day and accumulate no less than 14 hours per week. The key to outdoor activities is "outdoors", rather than the content, methods, and intensity of the activities.
5. Can indoor activities prevent myopia if you don't want to go out in cold weather during winter vacation?
Answer: The effectiveness of myopia prevention and control during indoor activities is not ideal. The key to preventing myopia is limited indoor visibility and insufficient light intensity, while sufficient exposure to outdoor activities is crucial. Even if the outdoor temperature is low, it is important to regularly engage in outdoor activities while keeping warm and warm.
6. Is outdoor activities on cloudy days effective in preventing and controlling myopia?
Answer: The outdoor light intensity on cloudy days is much higher than indoors, and outdoor activities on cloudy days have a certain effect on myopia prevention and control.
7. What outdoor sports can be recommended?
Answer: Various ball games are great outdoor sports. When playing ball, tracking the movement trajectory of the ball with both eyes can effectively exercise the ciliary muscles and promote blood circulation in the eyes. Running, doing exercises, playing together, playing games, taking walks, etc. are all good outdoor sports.
3, Extracurricular reading section: upright posture and sufficient brightness
8. Will reading paper books for a long time harm the eyes?
Answer: Compared to watching electronic screens, reading books causes relatively less damage to the eyes. Improper reading posture and prolonged close eye contact can cause eye fatigue. When reading, pay attention to taking timely breaks and use your eyes continuously for no more than 40 minutes. The younger the child, the shorter the duration of eye use.
What is the correct sitting posture for reading at home during winter vacation?
Answer: Correct sitting posture can effectively prevent the occurrence and development of myopia. When writing and reading, it is important to maintain a reasonable eye distance and head position, adhering to the principle of "one foot, one fist, one inch". This means that the eyes should be one foot away from the book (about 33 centimeters), the chest should be one fist away from the edge of the table (about 10 centimeters), and the fingers holding the pen should be one inch away from the pen tip (about 3 centimeters). Do not lie on the table, bed, or sofa reading, and do not read in a moving carriage.
10. What are the lighting requirements for winter reading?
Answer: Children need good lighting when studying, as improper lighting can have adverse effects on their eyes. Parents should place their children's desks in a well lit area indoors, and make full use of natural light for lighting during daytime learning to avoid direct sunlight on the desk. When studying at night, in addition to turning on the desk lamp for illumination, appropriate background auxiliary light sources should also be used indoors to reduce the indoor brightness difference and maintain harmony between the desktop lighting and the surrounding environment. The desk lamp should have a lampshade and be placed in front of the opposite side of the writer.
4, Electronic Products: Screen Selection and Time Control
11. During winter vacation at home, what is the appropriate video duration?
Answer: When watching an electronic screen, it is recommended to take a break at the right time. After 20 minutes of watching the screen, it is recommended to look up at a distance of 20 feet (6 meters) for at least 20 seconds, which is the "20-20-20" mnemonic. Children under 3 years old should avoid contact with electronic products as much as possible, and preschool children should use electronic products as little as possible. Children and adolescents should not accumulate more than 1 hour of entertainment video time per day. The younger the age, the shorter the duration of continuous use of electronic products.
12. What factors should be considered when choosing electronic products?
Answer: The video uses electronic products, and it is recommended to use them in the order of projector, TV, computer, and tablet. It is not recommended to use mobile phones. The overall principle is that the larger the screen, the better the resolution, and adjust the brightness according to the environment. When the surrounding environment is dark, turn on the room lighting to avoid using electronic products in dark environments.
13. When watching TV or using a computer, what is the appropriate distance?
Answer: When watching TV, the eyes should be at least 3 meters away from the TV screen or 6 times the length of the diagonal of the TV screen. When using a computer, the distance between the eyes and the computer screen should be greater than 50 centimeters, with the line of sight slightly downward. The center of the computer screen should be about 10 centimeters below the line of sight, which can effectively reduce dryness and visual fatigue in the eyes.
5, Scientific Eye Care Chapter: Emphasizing Health Care and Preventing Fatigue
14. What should I do if my eyes feel dry and tired?
Answer: Prolonged use of electronic products can easily cause discomfort such as dry eyes and visual fatigue. You can give your eyes sufficient rest by closing your eyes, looking into the distance, and doing proper eye exercises. Maintain appropriate indoor temperature and humidity, blink your eyes frequently to fully moisten your eyes with tears. Hot compress is one of the effective methods to relieve dryness and fatigue in the eyes. In severe cases, artificial tears can be used to alleviate symptoms or regular medical institutions can be consulted for visual acuity and refractive index testing.
