Don't buy products or services that claim to “cure myopia” or “reduce the prescription”
- High value
- Evidence B
- Saves money
- For: Child aged 3–18
- Free
- Takes minutes
- No willpower
In plain words
The State Administration for Market Regulation (市场监管总局) has said plainly that “with current medical technology, myopia cannot be cured.” Ads that use claims such as “restore,” “reduce the prescription,” “myopia cure” or “prescription repair” are to be dealt with strictly. When you see such words, rule the product out and don't bother comparing prices. Eye-protection devices count as medical devices, and online platforms are responsible for checking that sellers are qualified to sell them.
- Cost
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Free, and it saves you the money.
- What you get
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The notice of the General Office of the State Administration for Market Regulation on its special enforcement campaign from November 2021 to March 2022 states: “With current medical technology, myopia cannot be cured.” The notice requires strict, lawful action against marketing of myopia prevention and control products for children and adolescents that uses misleading terms such as “rehabilitation,” “restore,” “reduce the prescription,” “myopia cure,” “myopia killer” and “prescription repair.” It calls for stronger enforcement, aimed at marketing that deceives consumers by using the name of traditional Chinese medicine or by borrowing its theories and techniques. The notice also calls for a severe crackdown on two kinds of false and illegal ads: those that use the name or image of patients to show before-and-after treatment results, and those that give guarantees about the safety or effectiveness of treatment. It requires online platforms to strictly carry out their duty to check the business qualifications for eye-protection devices and other medical devices and related special goods (checking that sellers are qualified to sell them) (nationwide).
- Notes
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Graded B because it rests on how the regulators judged cases when they investigated, not on a controlled trial of products. But the statement “myopia cannot be cured” is the same from the health authorities and the regulators: the Ten Core Messages on Preventing and Controlling Myopia in Children and Adolescents (《防控儿童青少年近视核心知识十条》) say “myopia can be prevented and controlled but cannot be reversed.” The two things that really have evidence are in §30.4 (outdoors) and §30.12 (proper eye exams, glasses and follow-up). For blue-light-blocking glasses, see §6.
- Evidence grade
- B : Supported by research but without a precise number, or based on small or single studies.
- Sources
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- 市场监管总局办公厅 (2021). 关于开展儿童青少年近视防控产品违法违规商业营销宣传专项整治行动的通知. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2021-11/12/content_5650400.htm
Mentioned in
- Don't buy blue-light glasses to “protect your eyesight,” and don't believe that “a few months facing a screen ruins your eyes,” but treat swollen, painful, red eyes as an emergency
- Treat myopia as damage that stays: the stronger the prescription, the more retinal detachment, macular disease and glaucoma later
Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 30, tip 9. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer