A conversation I picked up on the other day was about those buggy-eyed frogs we know that were near-sighted. It seemed such a weird topic that my curiosity got the best of me. Although the fact that frogs can see almost in a 360 degree radius without stretching their necks is interesting, their nearsightedness even more so. Apparently their limited focal eyesight is about 15 cm in length directly in front of them – anything further than that is not noticed or attracted by them. Within that limited range, their tongues can snatch all those insects that they relish. I hoped this tall tale was leading somewhere!
He followed the frogs near-sightedness with information that myopia or near-sightedness is much more prevalent among the prison population than the general population. Okay, but why? The reasoning is because looking at four walls of a cell or only as far as across the hallway in a cell-block for most hours every day, these inmates, especially ones with longer sentences, are increasingly getting myopia. This problem could and should be minimised by frequent eye examinations of all inmates, hopefully helping to make them model prisoners! I think I know where this is heading; youngsters watching gaming on screens and their IPad’s too much.
Myopia is increasing globally at an alarming rate, according to the World Health Organization. It affects an estimated one billion people worldwide and if rates don’t change, that could rise to 2.5 billion by 2020, a third of the global population. Although most researchers agree that this status is a large part genetically determined, a growing body of evidence shows that visual experiences early in life may affect the growth and healthiness of the eye and eventual refraction. Bifocal spectacle lenses or rigid bifocal spectacle lenses or rigid lenses may slow the progression of myopia but cannot prevent pathological myopia.
A recent study in Canada shows more than 30 percent of young Canadian children walk around with fuzzy vision because of myopia that goes undiagnosed. Now experts are exploring a simple way to turn the tide on this worsening problem. The specialists are now warning that too much screen time could harm a child’s eyes. Pediatricians have gotten on board and are promoting limits for kids five and under. To me, a common sense prescription to slow worsening myopia in kids is to head outdoors and play in the sunshine.
All my life I heard adults say to the kids before they go outside, “Never look directly into the sun, you can go blind.” For whatever reason, I didn’t follow that advice. Every sunny day as long as I can remember, I would look right into the face of that brilliant sun several times a day for a few seconds. It tended to vitalize me. Get this! Last month at my annual eye checkup when the optometrist asked me to read the chart from the top, I started at the bottom row instead. I got three letters in before he stopped me and said, “Okay wise guy, I get it.”
Paul McCartney has a delightful story about one of the Beatles. As a teenager, John Lennon wouldn’t wear his glasses if there was a chance he might come across a pretty girl. One night after an evening at McCartney’s house, he walked home and told a startled McCartney the next day that he had passed a family playing cards, outdoors at midnight and in the winter. McCartney walked the same route himself the next night. It turned out to be a nativity scene.’
A newborn infant’s poor acuity, which is the ability to define small details, is initially deficient due to the lack of cone development. Acuity improves as the cones further develop and thus larger and larger targets are perceived. To obtain clear vision, the eye must accurately focus on an image in space onto the retina. In myopia, the image is focused in front of the retina because the cornea or lens curvature is too strong.
It makes sense for all newborns, preschool children and school-aged children to be vision tested by an appropriate means. It could prevent early loss of eyesight or even blindness. I was never tested as a youth – these tests weren’t available then. I was fortunate enough to see the light at the end of the tunnel without even realizing it.
