PARENTS in Oldham are being urged to speak to their opticians about their children potentially having myopia, a condition which is known as short-sightedness.

Over two million parents in the UK have been told their child has "short sight", unaware that it is also known as myopia, which can lead to an increased risk of retinal detachment, other eye disease and potentially visual impairment.

May 23-29 marks Myopia Awareness Week and parents are being advised on the steps they should take to help their children.

Daniel Crown, consultant Optometrist at Hathershaw Opticians, said: "In the UK we don’t link the term 'short sight' in children with long term eye condition.

"Once parents understand that short sight is a condition called myopia, they take it seriously and we want to know more."

He likened looking after a child's eyes to looking after their teeth, saying there are things to avoid and things that can help to prevent eye problems in later life.

Daniel said: "Sweets are to teeth what poor and excessive screen use are to eyes. 

"14 hours of outdoor time per week is to eyes what brushing is to teeth, proven to help stop deterioration."

The UK is said to be going through a "silent myopia epidemic", with as many as one in three children having the condition in some parts of the UK.

Daniel, originally from Hathershaw, is committed to improving people's eyesight, so much so he has created a device which helps to let people who are registered as blind to see better.

Daniel lost his own sight in 2008, prompting him to decide that "it was time to go back to university" and specialise in eye care.

Daniel went on to invent a pair of glasses in 2009 which utilised a persons remaining vision, allowing them to experience sight as they may have had before.

He made these and supplied them to his patients suffering from impaired vision.

Daniel said the joy and improvement in lifestyle he was able to deliver to his patients he says "was unmeasurable".

He said: "I remember when one of my patients was trying this for the first time and when he started mentioning all the things he could see around him, his mother quickly hugged me tight as said thank you."

He was able to develop the device further to allow for face and object detection. He was then approached by a Oxford University spin out company in 2017 to help develop this further.

Daniel has also invented several diagnostic pieces of equipment used across the globe every day by Optometrists and Ophthalmologists and travels the world, helping to train eyecare prfessionals.

Through Daniel's own personal experiences, he is passionate about improving the health of children's eyes and preventing them from suffering from severe vision problems in the future.

He said: "Sight is precious and having experienced sight loss myself I encourage all parents to call in and ask questions about their sight."