The theme for this World Sight Day, observed annually on the second Thursday of October, is ‘Children, love your eyes’ —and its focus is on eliminating preventable blindness.
At a time when there is higher emphasis on digital education, ophthalmologists are advising parents to reduce their children’s use of electronic gadgets. Dr. Josephine Christy S., chief of cornea and refractive services at Aravind Eye Hospital Pondicherry, says: “Access to digital devices has risen. We recommend that the child goes out and plays. The eyes are completely at rest when we are watching distant objects or are sleeping.”
She recalls that during her postgraduate days, she would recommend that children avoid watching television and play. “Now I say, if you cannot play, you can watch TV. But avoid mobile phones.”
Doctors also advise parents to keep their children away from digital devices at least two hours before sleep to prevent disturbed sleep cycles.
As for parents who want their children to read, Dr. Christy says, “We ask them to sit with the child and read a story book.”
‘Don’t postpone wearing glasses’
As the stigma against wearing spectacles lingers, parents prefer to postpone their children’s wearing of glasses, she says. But this delay is akin to causing a sin, Dr. Christy avers. “The child is facing a personal disability in their daily life, becomes an introvert, and is psychologically affected,” she adds.
The human eye grows until the age of 18, after which the progression of refractive error also falls. A regular eye exam is a must, and advanced treatment, such as laser at a later stage, to get the power corrected is an option, she points out.
For a decade now, Aravind Eye Hospital has a government school screening programme in the region. It has trained teachers to screen all the students in the class. Those who are unable to read the sixth line the chart are segregated and the hospital conducts a separate screening camp for the children. They are then given corrective glasses on the spot.
“Early diagnosis is important to prevent deterioration,” says P. Kanthamani, managing director of Krishna Eye and ENT Hospital. “Just as we all know our weight and height, we should also know our visual acuity,” she says.
She calls for civic society to come out and help in promoting eye health. A tilt of the head, squinting, a white spot in the cornea or pupil, narrowing of the eyes, holding the book close to the face are indications of poor sight. “All babies less than 31 weeks gestational age (up to even 32 weeks) or less than 1501 grams birth weight and a newborn who was on oxygen supplementation should be screened for retinopathy of prematurity,” she says.
Awareness about allergies
Medical director of CODE Eye Care Geetha Iyer calls for awareness about allergies in children. “There is a significant population of children who are predisposed to ocular allergy. It could be seasonal or perineal. Some of them could be associated with conditions of cornea, which we call keratoconous. It is a controllable and preventable condition,” she says.
Keratoconous is abnormality in the shape of cornea. The cornea becomes thin in some parts and there is treatment for the condition, she explains. “Some severe allergies can lead to keratoconous. We can arrest the progression,” she adds.
“Keratoconous starts in early teens or the last part of the first decade and it can develop beyond the growing years,” Dr. Geetha says. “It can impact vision but can be arrested by timely detection. Advanced cases warrant corneal transplants,” she adds.
Meanwhile, to mark the day, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness has facilitated a competition by asking children to use their creativity to raise awareness about the need for eye checks. The theme of the contest is ‘glasses of the future’.
An estimated 3.4 million Indian children could be living with uncorrected refractive errors, it is believed.
Published - October 10, 2024 07:22 pm IST
