Ask the Expert Series: Caring for your kids eyes

Myopia is a common refractive error among our school going children in Singapore. Except for congenital myopia which starts at a very young age, school age myopia commonly occurs when the child enters primary school. Risk factors that have been identified with myopia includes: parental myopia, extensive near work (including reading, writing, drawing, usage of handheld devices, etc), lack of outdoor activities etc. Myopia is threatening our child’s vision and we have one of the highest myopic rates among our children and one of the earliest onset (I.e. our kids get it young) in Singapore. The scary thing is, high myopia (defined as -5.00 diopters and more or 500 degrees) is a risk factor of potentially blinding conditions such as retinal detachment, cataracts and glaucoma. Helping a child to manage and to slow down the progression rate is important when myopia sets in.