KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Local doctors are asking East Tennessee parents to make eye care a part of their children's annual health exams. This is due to seeing more children come into the office with eye dryness.
"What we are seeing a lot of is people at younger ages spending more time on devices," Dr. Matthew Lowrance, an ophthalmologist and retina specialist with Tennessee Eye Care, pointed out. "Too much of that near-work that comes with bringing devices closer to your eyes can lead to problems."
Dr. Lowrance explained that when we focus on devices too much, we tend not to blink as much. And when we don't blink as much, we don't nourish the eyes with tears to keep them moist.
"The very first point of contact that light has when it comes into our eyes is the tear film on the surface," he added. "And, if that’s not smooth and completely intact the way it needs to be, then any chance we have of seeing clearly and focusing light onto the retina and the back of the eye has a hard time catching up."
Experts recommend following the 20-20-20 rule: For every 20 minutes, look up for 20 seconds and focus on something about 20 feet away.
According to Dr. Lowrance, prevention is key to maintaining good eye and vision health. Lowrance encourages parents to take their children to the eye doctor at least once a year. He also shared with 10News some tips parents can follow to keep their children's eyes as healthy as possible:
1. Follow a balanced diet. Encourage a diet with tons of vitamins A, C and E as well as omega-3 fatty acids.
2. Make sure your kids wear protective eyewear if they play sports or spend a lot of time outside.
3. Look for good lighting when studying or reading.
"Prevention is key, not just with our eyes but with our whole body and our entire life and health," Dr. Lowrance commented. "Getting ahead of something is very important to see if there’s a problem that is so much easier to catch and treat early than trying to play catch up down the road."