{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1872703,
        "msgid": "doctor-children-not-complaining-does-not-mean-they-are-free-from-myopia-1784642197",
        "date": "2026-07-21 20:14:00",
        "title": "Doctor: Children Not Complaining Does Not Mean They Are Free from Myopia",
        "author": "",
        "source": "ANTARA_ID",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Social Policy",
        "summary": "An Indonesian paediatric ophthalmologist has cautioned parents against waiting for children to complain of blurry vision before getting their eyes checked, as many with myopia are unaware of the impairment. Dr. Indah Saraswati highlighted behavioural changes such as sitting too close to screens or squinting as key early warning signs. She stressed that early detection is crucial to prevent suboptimal treatment outcomes, particularly for lazy eye, which becomes difficult to treat after the age of ten.",
        "content": "<p>Paediatric ophthalmologist Dr.\u00a0Indah Saraswati, BMEDSC(Hons), Sp.M,\nhas reminded parents not to wait for their children to complain of\nblurry vision before having their eye condition examined, as children\nwith myopia or nearsightedness are often unaware of the impairment.\n\u201cSometimes our children never complain. They never say, \u2018Mum, this is\nblurry\u2019,\u201d said Indah during the Healthy Vision Day event organised by\nEssilorLuxottica Indonesia in Jakarta on Tuesday. She said parents need\nto pay attention to changes in their child\u2019s behaviour that can be early\nsigns of myopia, such as frequently moving closer when watching\ntelevision or using gadgets, squinting when looking at distant objects,\nand difficulty reading writing on the whiteboard at school. According to\nIndah, parents should also not wait for a report from teachers regarding\na child\u2019s vision problems. This is because not all children are able to\nexpress the complaints they feel and not all teachers are aware of the\nissue. \u201cDon\u2019t wait for the teacher to say something. Sometimes the\nteacher doesn\u2019t notice, and the child doesn\u2019t speak up,\u201d said the\ndoctor, who holds a Specialist I in Ophthalmology degree from the\nUniversity of Indonesia. She added that delays in detecting vision\nproblems can lead to less optimal treatment, especially if a child has a\nlazy eye or amblyopia that is only discovered after the age of 10.\n\u201cAbove the age of 10, it is too late for lazy eye. So the earlier it is\ndetected, the better for the child\u2019s visual future,\u201d she said. Indah\nadvised parents to regularly ask whether their child can see the writing\non the whiteboard from the back row and to observe daily habits that may\nindicate vision problems. Early eye examinations are also recommended,\nparticularly if the child has a family history of myopia.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/doctor-children-not-complaining-does-not-mean-they-are-free-from-myopia-1784642197",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}