The 31st "National Eye Care Day" is approaching, and summer vacation is approaching. The vision health of children and adolescents has once again become a focal point of attention across society. Currently, myopia among children and adolescents in China is showing a high incidence, younger age, and worsening severity, presenting a severe situation. According to monitoring data from the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the overall myopia rate among children and adolescents in China has reached 51.9%, with 36.7% in primary schools, 71.4% in junior high schools, and 81.2% in high schools. How to use the holiday to scientifically protect your eyes, prevent myopia from worsening further, and safeguard your child's precious "hyperopia reserve" has become a topic of concern for countless parents and schools. In recent days, reporters have visited ophthalmology departments, education departments, and relevant experts at multiple hospitals in our city to learn about the exploration and practical approaches for myopia prevention and control among young people in our city.
Summer has become a period of rapid myopia growth
Scientific prevention is urgent
Every summer vacation, which should be a time for children to relax and embrace nature, often becomes a high-risk period for myopia to develop and worsen. Wang Yujin, Chief Ophthalmologist at Lanzhou First People's Hospital, said in an interview: "Every winter and summer vacation, ophthalmology clinics experience a peak in visits. What is worrying is that after the holiday, 80% of myopic students experience an increase in degree, mostly between 50 and 75 degrees, with some children experiencing a sudden increase of 200 degrees during a single holiday. This rate is distressing for both parents and doctors. ”
The main reasons are irregular daily routines and prolonged close-up eye use, which are the main culprits behind the sharp decline in summer vision. Wang Yujin pointed out that after returning to work, children who stay home during holidays often have their devices in hand, and the intensity and duration of electronic device use have significantly increased compared to school days. Research shows that if you use your eyes up close for more than 2 hours, the incidence of myopia increases by 1.5 times; if the distance remains below 30 centimeters, the incidence surges by 2.5 times. Meanwhile, the significant reduction in outdoor activities leads to a lack of natural light, further increasing the risk of myopia onset and progression.
As early as 2018, CDCs and medical institutions jointly conducted an epidemiological survey on vision health among kindergarten and primary and secondary school students in our city. The results showed that "the myopia rate far exceeds expectations," with 30% of primary school students, 50% of middle school students, and 80% of high school students, with many high myopia patients among them. In 2024, medical staff participating in vision health monitoring for primary and secondary school students across the city found during eye health check-ups in some schools that 75% to 80% of children have refractive issues such as myopia and astigmatism. The work of myopia prevention and control for adolescents is truly a "long and arduous task."
Rare "farsighted reserve"
Vision protection requires careful budgeting
In addition to preventing the progression of myopia in children who already have myopia, the concept of "hyperopia reserve" has increasingly entered the public eye in recent years, becoming a high-frequency term in the field of childhood myopia prevention and control. Ophthalmology experts use a vivid metaphor to explain: "Hyperopic reserve is like a child's innate 'vision bank deposit'—the physiological space reserved for hyperopia during the eyeball's growth and development, and a natural barrier against myopia." As children grow older, the eye axis gradually develops and lengthens, and this 'deposit' slowly depletes, causing physiological hyperopia to gradually decrease until they reach a state of frontal vision. But if, due to poor eye habits or other factors, your 'savings' are depleted too early or too quickly, or even 'reset to zero' early, myopia will arrive early. ”
Li Mingjie, an ophthalmologist at Lanzhou Second People's Hospital, reminds us that ages 0 to 6 are a golden critical period for children's visual development. If a child's vision before age 6 falls below the relevant reference standard, or if the unaided vision of those over six has less than 5.0, further examination is needed for the cause and targeted treatment. What is especially noteworthy is that some children's naked-eye vision appears normal in daily life, but after professional pupil dilation and refraction, their farsightedness is significantly below the standard for their age. This means their "hyperopia reserve" is depleted, making them a high-risk group for myopia. Children who have not yet been diagnosed with myopia but have farsighted reserves below 75 degrees have entered the "pre-myopia stage" and should be given immediate high-risk warnings, with immediate adjustments to eye habits and strengthened prevention and control interventions.
Medical resources are being extended to campuses
Three-way joint pipes weave dense protective nets
To truly move the threshold of myopia prevention and control forward, achieving "focusing on small, early, and critical points," major hospitals in our city have actively promoted the extension of high-quality ophthalmic medical resources to lower-tier markets in recent years, turning from "waiting for patients in hospitals" to actively entering campuses to "find problems," bringing vivid science lectures and professional vision screenings to children.
In the spring semester of 2026, the Myopia Prevention and Control Base of Lanzhou First People's Hospital actively responded to the "Five Health" campaign deployment from the Gansu Provincial Department of Education, the Provincial CDC, and the Lanzhou Education Bureau, taking responsibility for spring vision monitoring and eye health science lectures in more than 50 primary and secondary schools in Chengguan District, Qilihe District, Anning District, and Lanzhou New District. Similarly, the Ophthalmology Department of Lanzhou Second People's Hospital officially launched the 2026 spring special vision health screening campaign for primary and secondary school students in its jurisdiction. Within a one-month cycle, professional medical teams visited multiple primary and secondary schools in Anning District and Xigu District to comprehensively carry out vision monitoring, refractive screening, and eye health science education.
It is understood that as early as 2025, the citywide vision health monitoring for primary and secondary school students, led by the Municipal Education Bureau and the Municipal Health Commission in cooperation with Lanzhou First People's Hospital, was undertaken to screen and monitor 14 primary and secondary schools in Anning District and 35 schools in Chengguan District. Currently, our city has gradually established a long-term model of myopia prevention and control, with schools, parents, and hospitals jointly managing the area. By vigorously popularizing eye health knowledge, advocating early prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of eye diseases, and widely carrying out eye health services such as pediatric eye disease screening, vision examinations, and health guidance, the goal is to truly control adolescent vision diseases at the inception and promote the healthy growth of children and adolescents.
◆ Reporter's note
Home, school, and community work hand in hand to illuminate children's "bright" future
Myopia prevention and control in children and adolescents is a systematic project; it is by no means achieved overnight or by one person alone. It requires the government, schools, families, hospitals, and all sectors of society to unite and work together over time.
During the Myopia Prevention and Control Publicity and Education Month, many schools in our city have also introduced practical and effective measures. The "Full Coverage of Eye-Protecting Lighting" project demonstrated by the Chengguan District Education Bureau shows that all 96 primary and secondary school classrooms in the district have achieved full coverage of eye-protection lamps, with a 100% compliance rate for classroom lighting. Lanzhou Dongjiao School has innovatively built a four-in-one prevention and control system of "mechanism establishment—environmental optimization—behavioral intervention—home-school collaboration." By establishing electronic student vision records, implementing a "three-color early warning" mechanism, and carrying out school-based eye-protection activities, it has formed a comprehensive closed loop for myopia prevention and control.
Small eyeballs reflect the vast world. From hospitals providing precise professional screening and intervention guidance, to schools ensuring ample outdoor activities and daily supervision, to families helping children develop lifelong good eye habits, from establishing a refractive development record to safeguarding the "vision bank deposit" of farsightedness reserves, and ensuring two hours of outdoor sunlight every day, all parties are fulfilling their roles and working closely together to protect children's clear and bright "vision," striving steadily toward the beautiful vision of "giving every child a bright future." (Reporter Liu Xiaofang, text/photos)