Unexplainable It’s getting harder to see
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Aug 30, 2023 Discussion on the increasing rates of nearsightedness worldwide and potential factors contributing to it such as excessive screen time and lack of outdoor activities. Exploring solutions for eye problems including reducing screen time and increasing outdoor activities. Exploring new treatments for myopia control such as eye drops, special contact lenses, and ortho K lenses. Speculation on the benefits of understanding the cause of myopia.
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Global Surge in Myopia
- Nearsightedness (myopia) has dramatically increased worldwide, especially in Asia where 90% of teenagers need glasses.
- This rise in myopia is a modern phenomenon with significant long-term risks like potential blindness.
How Myopia Alters Eye Shape
- Nearsightedness stems from an eyeball that grows too long, making distant objects blurry.
- Babies are born farsighted and the eye grows to the correct shape, but in myopia, the eye elongates excessively.
Environment Trumps Genetics in Myopia Rise
- The rapid increase in myopia is not genetic since genes do not change quickly over generations.
- Environmental factors must be driving the sharp rise in myopia across many populations.