Hundreds of teenagers and primary school-going children have been suffering from myopia (near-sightedness), according to a study conducted by two eye specialists M. Kumara Swamy and Maithili Kulkarni in association with the Vizianagaram Rotary Club.
The specialists visited several schools in Vizianagaram and conducted tests for students to find out the reasons for myopia, which is spreading in rural areas too.
According to their report, the children are suffering from problems such as continuous blinking, blurring, irritation, headache, sleeplessness, dry eyes and others. Addiction to chatting on WhatsApp and Facebook, continuous watching of movies and other videos and playing games for hours on mobiles and tablets are being found to be the main reasons for many eye problems.
With availability of smartphones at affordable cost, almost all families have more than two mobiles. Interestingly, children are using them for a longer time compared to parents.
Many eye hospitals are seeing more young patients compared to elderly people. At least 20 children are being treated at each hospital every day, indicating the seriousness of the problem. Most of the school-going children are being recommended spectacles to overcome the problems.
Dr. Kumara Swamy said that lack of exposure to sunlight and ignoring the importance of outdoor games was leading to eye problems among children. “Parents should take precautions. They should not use gadgets unless it is very important. Strict avoidance of smartphones is the only solution to save kids from eye problems. Otherwise, it may lead to major complications in the future. ” he told The Hindu .
Dr. Maithili said mobile phones should not be used at least one hour before sleeping. “Electromagnetic radiation affects the retina directly as mobiles are kept very close to eyes. They are not supposed to be used in darkness,” she added.
Reacting over the report, Vizianagaram Zilla Parishad chairperson Sobha Swathi Rani said eye camps would be conducted in all zilla parishad schools in a phased manner. “Apart from providing treatment to kids, we will create awareness among the schoolchildren about the health hazards with the continuous usage of smartphones. We will also request teachers to participate in the campaign in rural areas where many kids don’t have access to eye hospitals,” said Ms. Rani.
