The National Health Commission recently released the "Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Myopia (2024 Edition)," which proposes four methods for the correction and control of myopia: wearing framed glasses, contact lenses, using low-concentration atropine eye drops, and surgical correction.

　　In 2018, relevant institutions once released the "Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Myopia." This time, led by the National Health Commission, the National Technical Steering Group for Blindness Prevention was organized to revise the old guidelines in light of domestic and international **academic research advances.

　　Compared with the old version, the new guidelines update "corrective measures for simple myopia" to "correction and control of myopia," proposing that people with simple myopia not only need to adopt appropriate methods to correct and obtain clear distance vision, but that it is also very important for children and adolescents to adopt effective intervention measures to control the rate of myopia progression and avoid a rapid increase in myopia diopters. The guidelines propose that the correction and control of myopia include four methods: wearing framed glasses, contact lenses, standardized use of low-concentration atropine eye drops under the guidance of professional doctors, and surgical correction.

　　Wang Ningli, head of the National Technical Steering Group for Blindness Prevention, reminded that myopia correction surgery changes the refractive power of the eye through surgical means, but the structure of the fundus of myopic patients does not change after surgery. In particular, highly myopic patients, whose elongated axial length is often accompanied by fundus lesions, still have these pathological changes in the fundus, and myopia has not been fundamentally cured. Therefore, after surgery, attention to eye hygiene is still needed as before surgery, and myopic people with fundus changes still need regular fundus examinations. In addition, devices such as orthokeratology lenses and multifocal soft lenses, as well as low-concentration atropine eye drops, are all measures to control myopia progression, and their use cannot fundamentally cure myopia either.

　　The guidelines note that outdoor activities can effectively prevent and control myopia in children and adolescents. Children and adolescents must first ensure the amount of time spent outdoors, with no less than 2 hours of outdoor activity per day; they should not only engage in more outdoor activities during class breaks at school, but also actively engage in outdoor activities after school and on weekends under family leadership and with the participation of parents or guardians.

　　Wang Ningli stated that prevention and control play an important role in reducing the incidence of myopia and decreasing the occurrence of high myopia. At the same time, it should be noted that fundus lesions related to pathological myopia have currently become one of the main causes of irreversible blinding eye diseases in China. People should attach great importance to the treatment of fundus lesions and complications related to pathological myopia, implement intervention measures in a timely manner, and reduce disability and blindness.