Kids facing blindness risk

Hyderabad: Poor living standards at home and lack of health screening facilities and support are affecting the eyesight of children studying in state government run schools in Hyderabad.

A study by doctors from the community medicine department of Osmania Medical College covering 600 students aged between 12-16 years from 10 government high schools in Hyderabad found that 23.3 per cent had myopia or nearsightedness.

Dr A. Shravan Kumar of OMC who published the study found that a major reason for development of myopia was watching television from a distance of less than 30 centimetres.

Of the 140 kids with myopia, 94 said they watched TV from a distance less than 30 cm, according to the study. They had limited space in their houses.

Poor illumination at home also took a toll on the children's eyes. The study found that the incidence of myopia was higher among children who spent more time indoors: 90 of the 140 students with myopia spent less than six hours a week playing outdoors.

Also, 55 per cent of the children with myopia were girls who spent more time indoors than boys. While a family history is a chief reason for development of myopia, experts found it played an insignificant role in this study.

Dr Kumar said incorrected refractive errors were responsible for about 19.7 per cent of blindness. He found that a large percentage of children with mild refractive errors are not wearing spectacles.