From Children to Seniors, How Our Family Protects 'Eye Health' During Family Month

Be Cautious of Strabismus and Amblyopia in Early Childhood
Important Lifestyle Habits to Prevent Dry Eye Syndrome
Eye Aging Accelerates After 40s
Manage with Regular Ophthalmic Examinations

It is necessary to check the eye health of family members for a happy home.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] There is a saying, "The eyes are the windows to the soul." Across East and West, eyes have been regarded not merely as organs for seeing objects but as pathways to look into a person's inner self. Healthy eyes are thus an essential part of leading a healthy life. Nevertheless, eye health is often overlooked, and it is difficult to self-assess any abnormalities. With May being the "month of family," how about checking the eye health of your family? Knowing which eye diseases are vulnerable at each life stage, how to identify them, and how to respond can be helpful.

Amblyopia and Strabismus to Watch Out for in Infancy and Childhood

Representative eye diseases to be cautious of during infancy and early childhood include strabismus and amblyopia. Strabismus is a condition where the gaze of both eyes points in different directions, and if not corrected early, amblyopia can develop, where vision does not reach 1.0 even with glasses. Since this is the period when vision develops most actively, failure to treat it timely can have a significant impact on future vision and hinder normal visual development. It is essential to carefully observe and monitor the child's eye health.

Children at this stage often do not recognize or express discomfort. Therefore, it is important to pay close attention to your child's behavior. If your child looks at objects too closely, frequently rubs their eyes, or is overly sensitive to glare, you should suspect abnormal vision development. Squinting or tilting the head when looking at objects may indicate strabismus.

Myopia and Dry Eye Disease Vulnerable in Adolescence and Young Adulthood

During adolescence and young adulthood, when long hours of reading and digital device use are common, the eyeball tends to elongate, making myopia progression likely. Severe myopia can cause not only discomfort due to decreased vision but also structural changes in the eye, increasing the risk of various eye diseases. Additionally, dry eye disease is frequently reported during this period. Dry eye typically worsens with prolonged exposure to heating and cooling systems or during seasonal changes, and if it becomes chronic, it can cause corneal inflammation, so timely treatment should not be missed.

Myopia and dry eye disease are relatively easy to self-diagnose due to symptoms such as decreased vision, eye pain, dryness, and foreign body sensation. However, many tend to neglect these symptoms, and even when aware of the risks, it is difficult to correct the poor lifestyle habits that cause myopia progression and dry eye. It is necessary to guide them to rest their eyes by looking into the distance for 10 minutes every 50 minutes when reading books or using smartphones and to maintain proper posture to minimize eye fatigue.

If dry eye syndrome worsens, it is advisable to visit an ophthalmologist for appropriate treatment.

Middle and Old Age: Managing Age-Related Eye Diseases

In your 40s, eye aging progresses significantly, increasing the risk of various age-related eye diseases. However, during this period, even if there are abnormal eye symptoms, they are often mistaken for simple aging, so those around should pay closer attention. If a person in their 40s frowns when looking at nearby objects or holds them farther away, presbyopia may be suspected. However, cataracts and glaucoma are increasingly found in younger middle-aged adults nowadays, and since early symptoms are mostly similar to presbyopia or absent, regular ophthalmologic checkups are recommended even if there are no special symptoms during this period.

Representative age-related eye diseases after the 60s include cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration. These eye diseases can lead to blindness if left untreated, so early detection and treatment are crucial. Typical symptoms of cataracts include decreased vision and blurriness; glaucoma may cause narrowing of the visual field; and macular degeneration can cause distorted or warped vision. If such abnormal symptoms occur, immediate ophthalmologic examination is necessary. Additionally, underlying conditions such as diabetes and hypertension can cause retinal diseases like diabetic retinopathy and hypertensive retinopathy as complications. Furthermore, myopia can lead to myopic retinal degeneration and retinal detachment.

Specialist Yoo Young-joo from Kim Eye Hospital said, "Eye diseases can occur unexpectedly to anyone and significantly reduce quality of life, but people tend to neglect them until serious symptoms appear. Family members should pay attention to each other's eye health and warmly encourage regular ophthalmologic checkups about once a year to protect the eye health of the whole family."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.