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When Vinayak Shetty (38), a
Central Mumbai based resident started receiving several complaints from
his seven-year old child's class teacher about incomplete schoolwork, he
tried to discipline the kid for not paying attention in his class. But
when the problem persisted, based on the suggestion of the child's class
teacher, Shetty decided to get the child's vision examined. To his
disappointment, Shetty found out that his boy is suffering from myopia
and would need corrective
fering from myopia and would need corrective therapy for his vision.
Medical experts say that Shetty's case is not an isolated one. They
point out that according to a study conducted by the International
Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), one in every four school
children have some or the other kind of vision problems that, if left
untreated, can affect learning ability , personality and adjustment in
school.
According Dr Hemalini Samant, a leading pediatric ophthalmologist at a city based hospital, there is certainly an increase in the number of cases coming in for school going students with vision problems. “Between the 5-7 age groups, we have seen a consistent increase in the cases coming in over the last few years,“ she says. Dr Samant explains that there are various factors that are at play for increased cases of vision problem among children. “One reason is purely pathological, as in urban India, there is an increase in number of babies being born through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), such babies are generally born premature and have very high incidence of myopia (nearsightedness),“ she says.
Heredity , babies who are treated by laser for Retinopathy of Pre-maturity , pre-natal stress suffered by the mother, those who are born as twins are most likely to suffer from one of the refractive errors, explains Dr Samant. The other reason according to experts is lifestyle related. Kids now-a-days are always glued to the computer screen at schools, to their iPads and gaming devices at home which causes strain on the eyes continuously . “Kids of today do not go out and play owing to the restricted lifestyle. Continues exposure to glaring screen causes strain which in turn causes spasm of the muscles leading to accommodation problems of the lens and myopia,“ says Dr Anil Mansukhani, a city based ophthalmologist.
Also, an increased awareness among parents about existing issues is causing a rise in the number of cases. However, doctors warn against being overenthusiastic. In their zest to get the problem fixed in their child's life, they may tend to not listen to the doctor, leading to wrong diagnosis.
According Dr Hemalini Samant, a leading pediatric ophthalmologist at a city based hospital, there is certainly an increase in the number of cases coming in for school going students with vision problems. “Between the 5-7 age groups, we have seen a consistent increase in the cases coming in over the last few years,“ she says. Dr Samant explains that there are various factors that are at play for increased cases of vision problem among children. “One reason is purely pathological, as in urban India, there is an increase in number of babies being born through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), such babies are generally born premature and have very high incidence of myopia (nearsightedness),“ she says.
Heredity , babies who are treated by laser for Retinopathy of Pre-maturity , pre-natal stress suffered by the mother, those who are born as twins are most likely to suffer from one of the refractive errors, explains Dr Samant. The other reason according to experts is lifestyle related. Kids now-a-days are always glued to the computer screen at schools, to their iPads and gaming devices at home which causes strain on the eyes continuously . “Kids of today do not go out and play owing to the restricted lifestyle. Continues exposure to glaring screen causes strain which in turn causes spasm of the muscles leading to accommodation problems of the lens and myopia,“ says Dr Anil Mansukhani, a city based ophthalmologist.
Also, an increased awareness among parents about existing issues is causing a rise in the number of cases. However, doctors warn against being overenthusiastic. In their zest to get the problem fixed in their child's life, they may tend to not listen to the doctor, leading to wrong diagnosis.
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