Every 10th schoolchild has vision problem

Rawalpindi : According to Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, one in every 10 school-age children has vision problems that, if left untreated, can affect their learning ability, personality and adjustment in school and later in society.

Eye infections are very common in children resulting in serious problems due to lack of healthcare facilities and low level of awareness, said Chief of Medical Services Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital Dr Wajid Ali Khan.

Talking to a group of journalists, he said parents and teachers should keep an eye on signs of vision problems among children for timely treatment as healthy eyes are a critical part of the development of kids.

He said every seasonal change brings an army of infections causing conjunctivitis, corneal ulcer, redness, swelling, hordeolum, and dry eyes etc. which are not noticed in the beginning and by the time people visit doctors for symptoms of diseases, it is often too late.

Vision screening should be part of child’s routine check-ups even if there are no problems noted, he said. Most of the time, vision problems are not obvious and the best way to catch issues early is through vision screening, he added.

“I will strongly recommend screening at school level that can prevent blindness and other associated problems,” he said. He said there are many eye conditions and diseases that can affect a child’s vision, therefore, every new-born should be checked thoroughly at the age of 14 days and treated immediately in case of any problem.

He added that any delay can result in permanent blindness as one of the main problems in treating children was non-availability of trained doctors. Therefore we have embarked upon a programme to train doctors and paramedics at home while providing the facility to doctors from other countries like Afghanistan, Egypt and Bangladesh, he said.

He said that around 0.9 per cent population in Pakistan (two million) is blind, most of them from preventable or curable blindness.