welcome to the organic green doctor blog

i am a family physician who was diagnosed with
early mild cognitive impairment(mci) amnestic type on december 21, 2010
this is a precursor to alzheimers disease
because of this diagnosis i have opted to stop practicing medicine
this blog will be about my journey with this disease
please feel free to follow me along this path
i will continue blogging on organic gardening, green living,
solar power, rainwater collection, and healthy living
i will blog on these plus other things noted to be interesting

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

are our kids getting more myopic

 ARE OUR KIDS GETTING MORE MYOPIC

that picture above is me with my glasses
i have worn them since i was 12 years old
i am myopic or nearsighted or shortsighted

i didnt know i was myopic or nearsighted or shortsighted  until i was screened at school
when i got my glasses for the first time i was amassed at how beautiful the world was 
how small the moon really was
how big those lights from cars seemed but now were small
i could see the board in school
i didnt have to get close to the tv to see it

it was life changing

i even was a baseball pitcher who was the best pitcher in the league
if i remember correctly i lost 1 game in two seasons of pitching in little league
my batting average was in the 300s even though i couldnt see the scores on the scoreboard
my coach as i moved up a league wouldnt let me pitch unless i wore my glasses
i once got hit in the nose with a baseball playing first because i lost it in the lights
bam right on my nose instead of my glove leaving my nose all crooked
i remember playing basketball and not being able to see what the score was
or how much time was left in the game

i remember going to a sporting event but couldnt see peoples faces in the crowd
once i wore my glasses every day my life changed

now
i dont wish myopia or nearsightedness on anyone
sadly though it seems technology is moving the generation z to a lifetime of myopia
maybe as many as 50% of them will be myopic
a real boom to eye doctors and eyeglass folks

apparently generation z are those between 11-26
they grow up with technology and the social media and doing everything digitally

the problem
not enough daylight exposure outside
they dont spend as much time outside as past generations
apparently this lack of exposure lowers dopamine levels in their eyes which affects their vision
also staring at phones all day leads to myopia also

in england the myopia has increased by almost 50%
in china its is even higher
in rural china the incidence of myopia is reduced significantly 

myopia puts one at an increased risk for glaucoma cataract acute macular degeneration or amd and retinal detachment
plus you have to wear glasses or contacts to see

staring at a screen all day leads to the lengthening of the eye
not getting enough sunlight affects the release of dopamine which is used in eye development

whats the answer
less screen time
more time outside

its that simple

lets not be short sighted about this

the organicgreen doctor

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