"Is eye drops good or eat eye protection nutrition? Is it better to train in 3D or use a massager? I really don’t know what to do. " Recently, Ms. Liu, a citizen of Beijing, told reporters that some time ago, her 7-year-old daughter was diagnosed with 75-degree myopia. She took her daughter to try a variety of myopia treatment methods, and the effect was not good. The degree of myopia not only did not drop, but increased day by day. "This is completely different from what the merchant promised at the beginning."
With the coming of summer vacation, myopia correction and vision prevention and control of minors are gradually heating up. Many parents expect to correct their children’s vision through rehabilitation treatment during the holidays. However, the mixed market of myopia rehabilitation treatment has discouraged many parents, and some parents shouted that they were cheated after trying some projects with their children.
What chaos exists in the rehabilitation treatment market for children’s myopia? How to rectify? The reporter launched an investigation on this.
□ Our reporter Zhao Li
Wang Meng, who lives in Xi ‘an, Shaanxi Province, has been on the way to correct her eyesight since her daughter was 7 years old. "I stepped on all the pits that I could step on, and massage, acupuncture and intelligent instruments and equipment went into battle together, which can be said to have been corrected ‘ Family bucket ’ , but there is no practical effect. "
Wang Meng said: "At first, we went to a correction institution that massaged acupoints, and tested our eyesight immediately after each massage. It really worked. Later, it was found that our eyes were relaxed at that time, but it was not really able to correct myopia." A year later, his daughter’s eyesight was not controlled, but her myopia increased by 100 degrees, which made the whole family complain, and finally she went to the hospital to get glasses.
Behind Wang Meng’s trampling on the pit is the increasingly serious myopia problem of children and adolescents in China. According to National Health Commission data, in 2022, the overall myopia rate of children and adolescents in China will be 53.6%. Among them, the myopia rate of children under 6 years old is 14.5%, that of primary school students is 36%, that of junior high school students is 71.6%, and that of senior high school students is 81%.
With the coming of summer vacation, many parents take advantage of their children’s absence from school to run around trying to correct their children’s eyesight and reduce their myopia. Parents’ attention to the treatment of children’s myopia has also pushed up the market fever of myopia prevention and correction, and a batch of myopia correction products have emerged one after another.
However, a large number of children and adolescents have not controlled the deepening of myopia after receiving various products and methods for treating myopia, and they have not recovered their eyesight. Many parents have been bluntly "pitted" in the mixed myopia correction market.
Known as three courses of lens removal
After one year, the degree increased.
In summer in Beijing, outside the ophthalmology department of a hospital, parents and children are crowded waiting for the call.
Fang Meng, a Beijing citizen, is one of them. Her daughter is 9 years old this month. She was diagnosed with myopia in a routine physical examination at school two years ago, but the degree was less than 100 degrees. According to the suggestion of physical examination, she took her daughter to the hospital for examination. The doctor told her that it is necessary to ensure two hours of outdoor time every day to prevent myopia among teenagers.
Fang Meng and her husband are very busy with their work, so they can’t take time out to take their daughter for outdoor activities according to the doctor’s advice. When they go to the doctor to check their eyesight, the myopia degree is increasing every month. This time, after inquiring about her family in detail, the doctor thought that the myopia degree of Yueyue increased rapidly, which may be related to heredity, because both Fang Meng and her husband are nearsighted by about 500 degrees, and at the same time, it is also related to the use of electronic equipment and lack of exercise every month.
Fang Meng began to pay attention to her daughter’s myopia, and immediately tried Chinese medicine massage, eye patch, 3D training and other myopia correction methods. She even listened to the propaganda of a vision recovery center that "glasses will be removed for one month without surgery, and 100% vision will be restored", trying to restore her daughter’s vision with so-called therapeutic instruments.
According to Fang Meng, spending a lot of money to buy treatment equipment not only has no effect, but also has a rapid decline in vision, scaring her to stop using it quickly, and other correction methods have no effect.
This summer, she grabbed the doctor’s number of a hospital’s ophthalmology department in advance and took her children to check their eyesight. The results of the examination are not optimistic, and the child’s eyesight is still declining. The doctor suggested that she give the child glasses.
The hour from Hebei is 9 years old this year, and his myopia has reached 475 degrees. Two years ago, Qian Yao, an hour’s mother, learned that her son couldn’t read the words on the blackboard clearly, and took her child to the hospital for examination. She was already nearsighted for more than 200 degrees. Qian Yao began to limit the frequency of his use of electronic products, and also gave him a lot of nutrients such as lutein, but the degree of myopia is still increasing.
Later, introduced by a friend, she took her children to a local institution that claimed to be able to treat myopia. The first time I went, the child couldn’t even read the first line of the eye chart clearly. After correction, I can see the third line of the eye chart clearly. Under the recommendation of the other party, Qian Yao bought a set meal in this institution. Unexpectedly, the number of treatments is increasing, but the treatment effect is getting worse and worse. At present, I can’t see the first line of the eye chart clearly.
What makes parents depressed is that myopia correction has no effect, but the cost is not less. Basically, it starts at 10,000 yuan, and tens of thousands of yuan is normal.
According to Fang Meng, the myopia correction package she bought for her daughter, some products cost tens of thousands of yuan per course of treatment. Wang Meng also spends tens of thousands of yuan a year on myopia correction for her daughter.
The reporter visited and found that in the myopia correction market, all kinds of so-called correction products are dazzling, including eye patches within 10 yuan, eye drops within 100 yuan, and myopia correctors and massagers over 1,000 yuan … … But the effect of these products is in doubt.
For example, on social platforms, there are many posts promoting a brand of myopia prevention and control eye stickers, introducing their efficacy and attaching purchase links. The reporter noticed that in the comment area under such posts, there will always be similar account messages saying that the eye patch has excellent effect in preventing and controlling myopia. However, there are also some users who have bought this product "show their opinions" in the comment area, bluntly saying that this product is "useless at all, and there is nothing to feel except ice and cold after pasting".
On the e-commerce shopping platform, the reporter consulted the customer service of some merchants selling eye patches, eye drops and therapeutic instruments, browsed the information of "product evaluation" and "ask everyone" to understand the efficacy of their products, and found that the customer service did not promise to reduce the myopia after using the products.
In this case, why do parents spend huge sums of money on myopia correction?
In Fang Meng’s view, myopia correction involves eye professional knowledge. Some institutions use parents’ eagerness and professional barriers to sell words. "Let us anxious parents ‘ Going to the hospital in a hurry ’ , thus falling into the pit. "
Wang Meng told reporters that his psychological defense gradually loosened under the promise of "no surgery, no medicine, three courses of treatment" and "no effect in one month, full refund", so he embarked on a long road of myopia correction.
According to the introduction of many interviewed parents, the reporter summarized some words of vision correction institutions:
"If myopia is not corrected, the eyes will grow by 150 degrees a year, and after myopia prevention and control, they will not grow and may even reduce the degree" — — Arouse parents’ anxiety about the development trend of myopia; "My two children took off their glasses through this product, one with 200 degrees and the other with 300 degrees, so I chose to make myopia correction products to help more people take off their glasses" — — Understand it with your own "success" experience, move it with reason, and feel it with emotion; "In the past two years, TV stations have had our advertisements, and athletes of international shooting competitions have posted this eye sticker, which shows that this product is very safe" — — Increase credibility with advertisements.
Create anxiety in the communication group
Direct sale of unlisted products
The reporter’s investigation found that behind some parents’ choice of myopia correction, some myopia exchange groups are filled with myopia anxiety.
After being introduced, the reporter recently joined a number of myopia exchange groups.
One of them is a discussion group called "Children’s Myopia Prevention and Control Campaign", with hundreds of members. The reporter noticed that the group forbade others to publish advertisements, and only the group owner could send links to eye protection products from time to time and share some eye protection articles. The reporter clicked on the link to enter the store, which sold glasses, eye stickers, fish oil, lutein and some therapeutic devices. The owner recommended a "four-piece set of prevention and control", that is, star fun control lens+light feeder+telephoto lens+reverse shot. The price of the whole set started at 10,000 yuan.
In another myopia exchange group with hundreds of group members, only the group owner can publish product introductions such as eye cream. Once someone asks whether someone has bought eye cream and how the product works, the group owner will immediately remove it from the group chat.
In a social group called "Prevention and Control of Children’s Myopia", as soon as the reporter joined, he saw that the group owner with the remark "Dr. Li from Ophthalmology" was giving parents "popular science" about the harm of children’s myopia: "It’s too serious to grow 100 degrees a year, and the child is only 8 years old, so we should control it as soon as possible, or else our glasses will crush the bridge of our nose when we go to junior high school … …”
When parents introduced the "cause and effect" and treatment methods of their children’s myopia, "Dr. Li from Ophthalmology" replied: "In your child’s case, surgery is not only risky, but also the effect is not guaranteed. It is best to use low concentration atropine for long-term correction, and it can be used with defocusing lens. "
When other parents asked where to buy low-concentration atropine, "Dr. Li from Ophthalmology" quickly replied: "You can call me if you need it."
At this time, there will be "parents" in the group as the "platform" of the group owner, saying that their children use eye drops and OK glasses recommended by the group owner, and successfully achieve a decline in myopia.
The reporter found that whenever a new member enters the group, these "parents" will stand up to set off the atmosphere, and from time to time @ group owner, thank the product recommended by the group owner.
Through four days of observation, the reporter found that the above-mentioned "Atmosphere Group" account is an active member of the group, and each time the words are similar, mostly repeating the situation of their own children and thanking the products recommended by the group owners. At the same time, every once in a while, these accounts will modify their group notes and personal avatars and start a new round of "contrast".
When the reporter added the social account of the above-mentioned "Children’s Myopia Prevention and Control" group owner, the group owner was very cautious, asking the reporter through what channels to add his social account and asking the reporter’s relevant information for verification. When the reporter said that he wanted to buy low-concentration atropine eye drops, the owner sent five brands of low-concentration atropine eye drops, the price of each box ranged from 70 yuan to 400 yuan, and said, "I’m not a drug seller, I’m just an ophthalmologist".
The reporter also added a number of "doctors" who sold atropine eye drops. When asked if they could prove their identity as doctors, the other party did not respond positively, just emphasizing that they were "doctors, but it was inconvenient to disclose specific information. If you want your child to reduce the degree, buy it, don’t believe it. "
When the reporter asked about the source of drugs, the above-mentioned owners replied: "There is no specific supply, these eye drops are not listed, and some are delivered directly by manufacturers."
It is understood that atropine is a commonly used drug in clinic. At present, its concentration is between 0.01% and 0.05%, and it is widely used in myopia children with rapid degree growth, also known as low concentration atropine.
"At present, the mechanism of atropine eye drops in preventing and treating myopia is still unclear." A doctor from a well-known eye hospital in Beijing, Dr. Zhao, told the reporter that low-concentration atropine eye drops cannot be purchased commercially in China. Parents are advised not to buy them privately through purchasing or Wechat business. Even if they are genuine products, there is no professional to check whether the concentration is standard or how to use them, so as to avoid causing allergies and even atropine poisoning.
The threshold for joining institutions is not high.
Employees do not need professional background.
In the interview, some parents expressed their doubts to reporters. What is the situation of the myopia correction institution that spent tens of thousands of yuan to find?
The reporter searched thousands of joining information on social platforms with the keyword "vision prevention and control joining".
According to the public information, if you want to join a vision correction institution, you need to go through the procedures of joining consultation, applying for an agent, looking for a shop, headquarters audit, headquarters field visit, negotiating and reviewing agents, signing a joining contract, training and counseling agents. The franchise fee ranges from 100,000 yuan to 600,000 yuan. The franchise fee includes providing brand authorization, site selection and decoration counseling, technical training for franchisees, personnel recruitment and professional training, providing equipment, business guidance and operation services. In the franchise commitment, the headquarters will provide brand advantages, professional guidance and management, marketing and promotion services, but will not make a profit commitment to franchisees.
The reporter contacted a franchise brand in Shandong as a franchisee. When asked what qualifications are needed to join, the other party stressed that it only needs to apply for business license and optometry qualification certificate. The headquarters will provide support such as enterprise credit rating certificate, product patent certificate and brand honor qualification, and no professional background in ophthalmology is needed.
According to the requirements of relevant professional standards, vision correction instructors need to hold certificates, and have requirements such as age, education and working years. However, when a reporter asked a franchised brand whether it was necessary to review its certificate of vision correction instructor when recruiting employees, the other party replied: "I have never heard of any certificate, and the headquarters will train employees for franchisees, usually for 5 days. After training, you can take up your post."
By inquiring about a number of third-party applicants, the reporter found that it takes about 30 to 45 days from registration to obtaining the certificate, and the cost ranges from 1,200 yuan to 1,800 yuan. Some institutions will "actively reduce prices and offer preferential promotions" in order to improve the registration rate; Some institutions said they would give the question bank, "Brush it before the exam, and there is no problem in passing the exam"; Some institutions even promised, "It doesn’t matter if you don’t have time to brush questions or attend classes. Institutions can ‘ Help ’ " ; What’s more, in order to encourage students to sign up, some institutions clearly stated that "the lectures will be arranged for free, and the exams can be operated, and the package will pass the certificate".
The reporter also found that many institutions are recruiting "vision care workers", but they don’t make any professional, skill and qualification requirements for candidates. For newcomers who don’t have any professional foundation, the other party said that they can take up their posts after training, ranging from a week to a day or two.
The reporter contacted a vision correction institution in Beijing on the grounds of applying for the position of "acupressure around the eyes". Regarding the qualification, its staff said: "It is best to have massage experience in traditional Chinese medicine, have affinity and patience, and have certain sales experience." When the reporter said that he didn’t have any professional knowledge in ophthalmology or experience in Chinese medicine massage, the staff member replied: "It doesn’t matter if you don’t have massage experience. What matters is that you have good expression skills and sales experience."
It is understood that in some vision correction institutions, vision physiotherapists generally hold several positions, not only responsible for eye acupoint massage for teenagers who come for vision correction, but also promoting products and packages for myopia correction in institutions. The staff of the above-mentioned institutions also told reporters that if the sales of vision therapists reach 30,000 yuan, they can get 3 points (3%) and 15 points (15%) if they are more than 100,000 yuan.
At present, myopia cannot be cured.
Marketing must not mislead the public.
For parents, they are eager to know whether the myopia of children and adolescents can be corrected, and how to make a choice in the face of the mixed myopia correction market?
In this regard, an optometrist at the Eye Optometry Center of Peking University People’s Hospital believes that there are many methods and equipment for preventing myopia in children on the market, but there is no "artifact" that can reverse myopia.
Dr. Zhao, the above-mentioned ophthalmologist, told reporters that for teenagers, there are generally pseudomyopia and true myopia. Pseudomyopia is mainly caused by long-term bad eye habits, and it rarely exceeds 200 degrees. If it continues, it will become true myopia. Pseudomyopia can be recovered by resting and correcting bad eye habits. Whether there are specific and exact curative effects of various methods and instruments for treating pseudomyopia on the market at present needs further verification.
Dr. Zhao told reporters that most of the expressions used in publicity, such as eye protection paste, eye-improving ointment, acupoint massage instrument and intelligent training instrument, lack scientific basis, which not only infringe on consumers’ right to know, but even make some consumers misunderstand and ignore children’s myopia.
In fact, in recent years, the Ministry of Education, the National Health and Wellness Commission and other departments have issued a number of policy documents to effectively strengthen the prevention and control of myopia among children and adolescents in the new era.
For example, as early as 2019, the Ministry of Education and other departments jointly issued the Notice on Further Standardizing Myopia Correction for Children and Adolescents and Effectively Strengthening Supervision, pointing out that "under the current medical technology conditions, myopia cannot be cured", explicitly requiring institutions or individuals not to mislead the public by using expressions such as "rehabilitation" and "lowering the degree" in marketing.
Chen Yinjiang, Deputy Secretary-General of china law society Consumer Rights Protection Law Research Association, said that many vision correction institutions lack medical qualifications and professionals, and often use verbal promises to mislead consumers. Therefore, consumers should try their best to convert verbal promises into written agreements and keep evidence for future rights protection.
Although myopia cannot be cured, it can be prevented and controlled. In addition to congenital genetic factors, the acquired unscientific eye habit is the main cause. Therefore, people in the industry suggest that in addition to cooperating with the treatment, everyone is the first responsible person for their own health. Students should also try to reduce the time of "screen reading", and should maintain more than two hours of extracurricular activities every day, while maintaining a correct learning posture.
(The rule of law daily respondents are all pseudonyms)
