The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said that a program it launched aimed at protecting the eyes of children had resulted in significantly reducing the progression of myopia of children who participated in the first phase of the program.
Health Promotion Division Director Lin Meng-hui (林夢蕙) said the program included a series of efforts aimed at improving the eyesight of elementary-school students, including distributing free pamphlets for students about myopia, giving booklets to parents about protecting their children’s eyes, showing myopia prevention videos at movie theaters and MRT stations and providing free eye examinations.
Records show that without regular examinations and preventative measures, the average progression of myopia in elementary-school students from grade one to grade four is about 100 to 125 degrees per year, Lin said.
However, five eye examinations performed on fourth-grade students, who had participated in the program for two years, showed an average progression of between 24 degrees and 45 degrees per year, Lin said.
“Many people have the misconception that myopia is not a serious problem and can be corrected just by wearing glasses, but severe myopia is associated with a higher prevalence of diseases and complications — potentially including blindness,” Ophthalmology Society of Taiwan secretary-general and Taipei City Hospital ophthalmologist Tsai Ching-yao (蔡景耀) said.
Severe myopia is linked with higher prevalence of retinal detachment, glaucoma, macular degeneration and cataracts, so parents should remember to take their children to hospitals or clinics for professional eye examinations — with the use of tropicamide (used to dilate the pupil) — once every six months, Lin said.
Without the use of tripicamide for eye examinations, about 25 percent of the students are not properly diagnosed and about 20 percent of students without myopia were diagnosed as having myopia, Lin said.
There are two peak periods when people develop myopia, and one of them is between the ages of seven and eight, so it is very important that elementary-school students learn how to protect their eyes properly, National Yang Ming University School of Nursing associate professor Liou Yiing-mei (劉影梅) said.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese