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Myopia (short-sightedness) is currently the most common eye disease in the world, especially in adolescents.
Myopia has become more severe and common as people use more electronic devices and are less physically active. In particular, a study conducted by The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Faculty of Medicine found that myopia among school aged children increased by 2.5 times under the pandemic and is expected to increase yearly. Hong Kong’s Department of Health found that approximately 18 percent of 6-year-olds in Hong Kong have myopia, and the rate of myopia among 12-year-olds has risen sharply to 62 percent.
There are many ways to treat myopia. Western medicine mainly focuses on optical correction and surgical treatment. Using surgery is not optimal because adolescents are in a growth and development stage and the refractive system of the eye is not yet stable.
Traditional Chinese medicine, meanwhile, has received increasing attention in recent years because of its low side effects and few complications.
Jonathon Liu, a professor of Chinese medicine at a Canadian college, told The Epoch Times that there are two types of myopia: refractive and axial. Refractive myopia means the cornea or the lens cannot focus light properly on the retina, and axial myopia means the eyeball is abnormally elongated and is the most common form in children with short sightedness.
Dr. Liu also pointed out that most children with myopia actually have pseudomyopia, if there is no pathology or other disease problem. Pseudomyopia, through traditional Chinese medicine and acupressure therapies, can be cured. But if pseudomyopia is not taken care of properly, it can progress into true myopia.
A simple way to improve eye fatigue that helps pseudomyopia, according to Dr. Liu, is to drink a recommended tea or eat foods that are helpful in improving myopia.
Goji berries and chrysanthemums are famous for their properties in protecting eyesight and sicklepod (Senna obtusifolia) is beneficial in treating glaucoma. Dr. Liu specified using cooked sicklepods because raw sicklepods have different medicinal properties.
