Ophthalmologists attribute rise in myopia cases among children in the city to lack of exposure to daylight. They say they have noticed a tremendous rise in short-sighted people in the last two months.
Eye specialists also warn parents about the implications of lack of outdoor activity. Myopia, they say, is occurring among children at a very premature age because of their increased addiction to new age devices. Dr Kiran Kumar, ophthalmologist at Yashoda Hospital, says, “Doing any kind of work for extended periods of time causes a stimulus for the eyeball to grow in size and subsequently, there is the onset of myopia.” He warns that if myopia in one eye is not treated before the age of eight, it may cause loss of vision in that eye.
Dr Srikumar Reddy, ophthalmologist at Apollo Hospitals, says it has now become hard to detect the onset of myopia because of the shrinking size of rooms and classrooms. Dr Kalyani, privately practicing glaucoma specialist, says detecting myopia in children “is the responsibility of teachers (who can spot it) when children make mistakes and score poorly”.