Petition Filed with FDA to Require Eye Care Professionals to Warn Parents that Distance Lenses Worsen Myopia
The International Myopia Prevention Association (IMPA) has filed a Petition with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking enforcement action to require eye care professionals to advise parents of children with initial myopia that distance (minus) lenses worsen myopia and that myopia may be prevented by using reading (plus) lenses for computer usage and other prolonged close work.
Ligonier, PA (PRWEB) May 1, 2005 -- The International Myopia Prevention
Association (IMPA) has filed a Petition with the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) seeking enforcement action to require eye care
professionals to advise parents of children with initial myopia that distance
(minus) lenses worsen myopia and that myopia may be prevented by using reading
(plus) lenses for computer usage and other prolonged close work.
The
Petition is spearheaded by IMPA founder and author Donald Rehm in response to
the absence of regulation for eye care professionals about what parents are told
about the effect of distance (minus) lenses and the importance of using reading
(plus) lenses for close work. A copy of the 58-page Petition and an animation
explaining the basis for the Petition can be found at www.preventmyopia.org.
Rehm is the author of the book: The Myopia Myth, The Truth About Nearsightedness
And How To Prevent It.
Myopia is a significant health
problem affecting at least 25 percent of all adults in the United States. In
addition to causing blurred distance vision, myopia is a predisposing factor for
retinal detachment, myopic retinopathy and glaucoma. Myopia is increasing
worldwide, in part due to the increased amount of time spent in front of
computer monitors.
Commenting on the Petition, Rehm said: “No one is even
questioning why parents are told virtually nothing when eye care professionals
prescribe glasses or contact lenses for their children. Hopefully, this Petition
will at the very least trigger a serious debate about what consumers should be
told. Let the eye care professionals justify why consumers are not given the
information that they need. The time for change has come. Ophthalmologists and
optometrists have an ethical and legal responsibility to reduce and prevent
myopia if they can.”
About the International Myopia Prevention
Association
The International Myopia Prevention Association was founded by
Donald Rehm in 1974. Its mission is to increase public understanding of the
causes and available treatments for myopia, and to help save the vision of young
children.
For more information, visit www.preventmyopia.org.
# # #
Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/5/prweb235073.htm