What foods are good for children with myopia to prevent myopia from getting worse?

Nowadays, the age group with vision problems is generally decreasing, and many kindergarten children already have myopia problems. Usually, it is because they watch TV or computer for too long without giving their eyes a good rest, which leads to refractive error. Parents can encourage their children to participate in more outdoor activities to improve their condition.

How to prevent myopia in children

Relax your eyes in time: When the eye muscles are not rested and the eyes are overused, it usually causes headaches, blurred vision, and inability to concentrate. The best way is to let your eyes rest for a few minutes after every 20 minutes of reading or computer time.

Encourage outdoor activities: According to research, children who spend more time outdoors are more likely to develop myopia more slowly or not at all. This is because playing outdoors can provide natural vitamin D, which helps fight myopia.

Provide a balanced diet: Studies have shown that lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoids, are essential for eye health and are commonly found in orange and yellow foods, such as corn, carrots, salmon, and eggs.

Good living habits: Encourage your children to follow good living habits, that is, avoid reading and activities close together, as this can cause excessive eye strain. Whether reading, doing homework, or computer time, they should maintain good posture.

Common vision problems in children

Refractive error: The most common refractive errors are myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. There are many reasons for refractive error, the most important of which are excessive use of the eyes, poor posture, insufficient light, etc.

Night blindness: If the baby is picky eater and is seriously deficient in vitamin A, it will lead to night blindness. Usually vitamin A can be obtained from food, such as carrots, peas, spinach and so on.

Thinning of the cornea: If your child has allergies, they may easily have itchy and red eyes due to pollen and dust mites. The child's instinctive rubbing of the eyes may lead to refractive errors or thinning of the cornea.

Eyelid disease: Blepharitis is a condition in which a child's eyes become irritated and the edges of the eyelids become itchy. This can be treated with a rag or cleansed with diluted baby shampoo, or with antibiotic ointment prescribed by a doctor.

Nasolacrimal duct obstruction: This is more common in babies under 6 months old, as the nasolacrimal duct takes 6 months to develop. The baby will have fluid discharge from the eyes, which usually requires eye washing and antibiotic drops.

What should children eat for myopia?

Supplement protein: protein is the basic substance of human life activities. As for the sclera tissue, it can become the tough outer shell of the eyeball. Fish, meat, milk and eggs are rich in protein.

Supplement calcium and phosphorus: Animal bones such as cattle bones and pig bones are rich in calcium and are best absorbed and utilized by the human body. Other foods such as milk, bean products, clams, crabs, shrimps, eggs, shepherd's purse, rapeseed, peanuts, and jujubes also have high calcium content.

Supplement zinc and chromium: Soybeans, oatmeal, almonds, seaweed, kelp, lamb, steak, yellow croaker, anchovies, oysters, milk powder, cocoa powder, tea, etc. contain more zinc; yeast, beef, cereals, meat, liver and cheese contain more chromium.

Supplementing the liver and kidneys: Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the cause of myopia is mainly due to insufficient liver and kidneys and loss of qi and blood, so food and medicine that can supplement the liver and kidneys can be used for treatment. For example, meat, eggs, liver, sea cucumbers, shrimps, turtles, longans, lychees, etc. all have the above effects.