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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The number of children suffering from eye diseases is on the rise, according to opticians from the National Referral Hospital-Mulago, Mengo, Rubaga and Dr Agarwal Eye Hospital.
The children are increasingly suffering from congenital cataracts, glaucoma, injuries to the eye, ulcers, retinopathy of prematurity, retinoblastoma and allergies, mostly affecting newborns to kids aged ten.
Dr Lisbon Aliraki, the head of eye department at Mengo Hospital says that nearly 30,000 children are treated annually for eye diseases, calling upon parents to take their children for regular eye checkups to avoid to blindness in severe conditions. The number, he says, has increased from about 25,000 children that visited the hospital between 2009 and 2010.
“Most of the cause of blindness in children are either preventable or can be reversed if discovered early. But because parents are not aware of some of these diseases, we see children as young as two years either wearing spectacles or losing sight in one eye,” he said.
Similarly, Dr Ann Ampaire, an eye surgeon specializing in cancers says that diseases like retinoblastoma are becoming high. She says that hundreds of children are now presenting with the condition at the Uganda Cancer Institute, away from about 40-50 children that were treated three years ago.
Retinoblastoma- is cancer that develops from immature cells of the retina, a condition which can be passed on from a parent to a child. Symptoms of the condition include squinting of the eye and an eye that shines like that of a cat when exposed to light.
Dr Ampaire was speaking during a media meeting held this morning ahead of the World Sight Day at the Ministry of Health headquarters in Kampala.
Dr Ampaire further explains that the exposure of premature children on oxygen at birth can lead to blindness. She says that doctors need to examine children who spend time in neonatal units.
Angrio Dralega, a lecturer from the College of Health Sciences at Makerere University attributes the increase to the number of eye disease among children to exposure to technology. He says many children spend more time confined in rooms watching TV that gives off abnormal light that affects eyesight.
“If you keep kids in one confined area they are more likely to develop myopia. Many kids today are either glued to phones or TV. This is why we see many children in urban areas wearing glasses compared to their counterparts in rural settings.”
According to the Health Ministry, the prevalence of blindness in Uganda stands at 0.4 per cent. Blindness in Uganda is more prevalent in Karamoja and parts of Busoga.
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