Playing puzzles "hurts the eye"? Use it correctly to benefit vision development

With the improvement of living conditions, there are many kinds of toys for children on the market. In these rich toys, children often come into contact with delicate toy parts or puzzles, light sources and a variety of eye-catching objects, in the end, do these toys have a bad impact on vision? What behaviors do children need to arouse the vigilance and attention of parents? In response to related topics, experts from The Zhongshan Eye Center of Sun Yat-sen University gave answers and guidance.

Toys too fine can be myopic? not necessarily!

Recently, ms. Chen, a parent, had troubles: during the Spring Festival, her brother came to visit the New Year and brought gifts to the two children, DIY models and puzzles. There are many fine parts in these two gifts, bright colors, children like it, play for an afternoon, but the family feels that this type of toy causes children to use their eyes at close range for a long time, and playing for a long time will "hurt their eyes".

Puzzles and building blocks often have many fine parts that can exercise children's thinking, but will it affect vision? In this regard, Dr. Hu Yin of the Department of Refractive and Low Vision of the Zhongshan Eye Center of Sun Yat-sen University said that this fine close-up eye can be said to be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can contribute to vision development. Clinically, doctors often recommend that children with amblyopia perform this fine homework to improve their vision; on the other hand, using the eyes at close range for a long time will accelerate the development of myopia. For children who are about to be nearly nearsighted or have been nearsighted, this eye habit is not friendly.

Therefore, "whether it is harmful to play fine toys for a long time and up close" varies from person to person. For children with high farsightedness or even combined with amblyopia, playing with these fine toys is not a big problem; for children with myopia risk or have nearsightedness, the play of fine toys should pay attention to the way, pay attention to maintaining sufficient eye distance and intermittent rest, such as playing every 20 to 30 minutes to the outdoor rest and relaxation.

Laser light source toys to avoid

In addition to toys with fine parts, what other toys have the potential adverse effect on children's eye health? Professor Yang Jing of the Refractive Department of the Zhongshan Eye Center of Sun Yat-sen University said that if the colorful toys are within the normal light source range, there is no need to worry too much, pay attention to the frequency of use, and avoid long-term flickering caused by eye discomfort. What needs to be vigilant is to avoid contact with laser-like light sources, such as laser pointers, etc. Laser irradiation to infants and young children's eyes is easy to damage the retina, which can cause retinal perforation.

In addition, the use of infant toys should pay attention to prevent the occurrence of eye trauma. The toy material of young babies is preferably soft, for example, building blocks can be selected from cloth. Plastic toys can have smooth edges and no burrs. "Sharp objects scratching the eye produce bleeding and redness, which is easier for parents to detect, but some injuries do not necessarily manifest as bleeding and broken skin. If the baby's eyes are squinted, can't open their eyes, and often shed tears, parents should pay attention to whether there have been sharp objects scratching the baby's eyes. Usually, sharp objects in the home should also be stored well. ”

The following symptoms appear to be alert to vision problems

For school-age children, if the child has the behavior of frequently tilting his head and squinting at the blackboard, he should be wary of myopia or pseudo-myopia caused by excessive eye fatigue with his eyes, and can go to the hospital to diagnose it through medical mydriasis.

It is worth noting that in infant and young children, changes in vision are not presented through the common symptoms of crooked head and squinting, "Infants and young children themselves are in a state of farsightedness, but the baby cannot actively reflect the vision situation, and it is also difficult for others to check the vision of the baby, so the baby's vision is often ignored, and it can be carefully observed from some eye-related actions to carefully observe whether the baby's vision is normal." Yang Jing introduced, on the one hand, you can use a small flashlight to shake in front of the baby's eyes, if the baby's eyes can not follow the flashlight to move to indicate that there is a situation; on the other hand, you can observe whether the baby can smoothly receive objects, if you deliver objects to the baby, the child often can't catch or can't connect, it is possible that his vision problems are in a relatively weak state of vision.

Experts remind that the infant and young children are a critical period of visual development, if you find that vision is not good, you should be examined as soon as possible, treat as soon as possible, and prevent amblyopia.

Hot Q&A

What does the most common non-conforming item of glasses products "visible light transmission ratio" mean? Is it that the lenses are not transparent enough?

A: The visible light transmission ratio of a lens refers to the transmittance of the lens to the visible light. Simply put, it is the ratio of the amount of visible light through the lens to the amount of visible light projected on the surface of the lens. Light needs to enter the human eye through the lens to form vision. Therefore, in general, the higher the visible light transmission ratio of eyewear products, the better.

The factors affecting the visible light transmission ratio of the lens mainly include the reflection of the lens surface, the scattering of opaque materials inside the lens and the absorption of the lens material. Therefore, the lens "not transparent enough" can be the cause of the lens's visible light transmission ratio is not qualified, but it may not be the main reason. Because the biggest influence on the visible light transmission ratio is the reflection of the lens surface, and the main influencing factors of the latter include the refractive index of the lens and the coating technology and process of the lens surface.

Listen to the child's teacher said that the child's "eyes" should be bathed in the sun to not be short-sighted, but will the sunlight also hurt the eyes?

A: The statement that "eyes" bathe in sunlight to prevent myopia is correct. We are now advocating for increased outdoor activities to prevent myopia, and one of the most important points is that there is plenty of light outdoors. Both animal experiments and clinical studies have confirmed that adequate light can effectively prevent myopia. Of course, the parent friend's fear that the sun's rays hurt his eyes was also justified. However, this condition is mainly seen in fundus macular damage caused by looking directly at the sun. Regular activities in the sun, avoid looking directly at the sun, not only safe but also an important means of preventing myopia.

(Text/Guangzhou Daily all-media reporter Liang Chaoyi Correspondent Tai Mengyun Wei Chunfu)