13 Percent School Children Myopic in India: Report

AIIMS study has revealed over 13 percent of the schoolgoing children in India have turned myopic, adding that the number has doubled in the last decade due to excess usage of electronic gadgets.

According to the Rajendra Prasad Center //for Opthalmic Sciences at AIIMS, the statistics for the disorder a decade ago was only 7 percent. Among the other nations which follow the increase in the problem among its children are China, Singapore and Thailand.

Myopia - Symptoms and Diagnosis - Treatment - FAQs
Myopia is the inability of a person to see the distant objects clearly. Myopia is also known as near or short sightedness.

‘Myopia is the inability of a person to see the distant objects clearly. In India 13 percent school children have turned myopic.’

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Myopia, also known as near-sightedness and short-sightedness, is a condition of the eye where the light that comes in does not directly focus on the retina but in front of it, causing the image that one sees when looking at a distant object to be out of focus. It does not affect focus when looking at a close object.

"Very less studies have been done in India on the eye related problems and the myopia one is one of them. We are also conducting a national survey to find out the other eye related problems among the children," said Atul Kumar, head of the RP center, the apex eye center of India.

The announcements were part of the 49th Foundation Day of the R. P. Center for Opthalmologic Sciences, during which Kumar also announced several other new studies being carried out to figure out the existing eye related problems in the country.

Myopia may Help in Developing 'Customized' Intraocular Lenses
Differences in the diameter of the ciliary muscles used to focus may have important implications for providing patients with a customized IOL fit.

Established in 1967, as the National Institute of Opthalmology, RP center currently has 41 faculty members working in its 14 clinical and para clinical sections.

Speaking about the center, Jeewan Singh Titiyal, opthalmology professor at AIIMS said: " Till now 1, 400 corneas were retrieved through voluntary eye donation and hospital cornea retrieval programme. Over 950 corneal transplant surgeries were performed at RP center since its establishment."

Here's How You can Identify Children Most Likely to Develop Myopia
Kids who grow up with normal vision are slightly farsighted when they are in first grade; therefore, the potential for myopia can be detected at this young age.

Source-IANS

Eye Test for Myopia or Near-sightedness
Test your vision regularly at home using the Snellen or Tumbling E chart. If there is a problem go and see an eye doctor.