Op. Dr. Belgin Ekmekçiler from the Department of Ophthalmology at Memorial Diyarbakır Hospital said, “Recent studies have shown that daylight prevents myopia. We want our children to spend at least 1 hour a day outside.”
Op. Dr. Belgin Ekmekçiler said that the most important stage of education is that children see correctly, and that being able to follow the board well at school is one of the most important criteria for success. Pointing out that this is the most overlooked part, Ekmekçiler pointed out that there are many diseases in children, which affect their sense of vision. Stating that children go to school but cannot see the blackboard, Dr. Ekmekçiler said, “They look at their friends left and right, sometimes they get scolded by the teacher for this reason. Or they try to see it, because they squeeze it too tightly, their school concentration decreases, they get headaches and this brings failure in the child. Sometimes teachers notice it in class. Unfortunately, parents fail to notice the defect in their children's eyes. Either they don't have time or they think they can see far away because they see close up. Mostly teachers notice and send them to us,” he said.
“In recent years, there has been an epidemic especially in myopia”
“We strongly recommend all parents to have an eye examination before the school opens,” Ekmekçiler said:
“For me, the most important criterion for success is more important than books. Sometimes families come to us saying that we had it done three years ago. It is not enough to have the child's eyes examined once. Especially eye diseases in children start and increase with the start of school. In recent years, there is an epidemic, especially myopia. By the time they complete high school, almost one in three children wear glasses. The reason for this is myopia. Myopia is a disease in which a child cannot see far away. It starts with school-age education and increases as they grow up until the age of 18-20. Technology has a great influence on this. Excessive cell phones, iPads, excessive homework in schools, excessive lessons cause these. Recent studies have shown that daylight prevents myopia. We want our children to spend at least 1 hour a day outside.”
21st Region Southeast Opticians Opticians Chamber Chairman Abdurrahim Erdoğan stated that the biggest factor in children's learning by reading, writing and seeing is to have a healthy vision. Reminding that eye examinations are performed in the first 6 months when children are born, Erdoğan said, “In addition, in order for them to be successful in education and training life, we must definitely perform eye examinations before school starts. Even if our children's eye number does not change, they can start their education life by having a specialist optician check whether the glasses are compatible with the pupil, ear distance and head structure, and then make ergonomic adjustments.”
