The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) has on Tuesday called for early clinical presentation of children with eye defects.
The Consultant Paediatric Ophthalmologist and Head of Department, Eye Clinic at the Hospital, Dr. Modupe Idris, said this at a webinar as part of activities to mark this year’s World Sight Day with the theme ‘Hope in Sight’.
Idris, who spoke extensively on common causes and prevention of visual impairment among school children during the webinar, warned against late presentation of cases at the hospital.
The ophthalmologist implored parents as well as guardians to be responsive to children whenever they make complaints about their sight.
She stressed that some eye defects can easily be corrected with eyeglasses.
She described visual impairment as the decrease in the ability to see and is best corrected early as not all eye impairment lead to blindness. “Most are avoidable if treated appropriately early.”
Among the many causes of visual impairment in children she listed are: refractive errors that eventually lead to long-sightedness, short-sightedness or astigmatism.
Others are ocular trauma, conjunctivitis, squinting, glaucoma (hereditary), cataract, orbital fracture and computer vision syndrome among others.
The HOD explained further that there are many effective treatments for visual impairment such as the use of contact lenses, surgery and non-optical therapy like increasing the light at home and in the class, and allowing the children to do a lot of outdoor work among others.
The World Sight Day, celebrated on the second Thursday in October of every year, is geared towards challenging health practitioners to bring awareness to the importance of making eye health a global priority.
