Childhood Blindness

Childhood blindness is defined as corrected visual acuity in the better eye, worse than 3/60 in a person younger than 16 years. This means that even with spectacles, the child would not be able to see the largest letter on a visual acuity chart if it is placed at 3 meters distance.

Major Eye Problems in children

Cataract	Trauma
Refractive Errors	Glaucoma
Squint	Retinopathy of Prematurity

Cataract

Causes
	Rubella Infection
	Hereditary, 50% unknown,
	Trauma
Symptoms/Signs
	Clouding of Lens
	Blurring of Vision, White spot in the iris
Preventive Measures
	Rubella immunization
	Better care of eye
	Protective Glasses

Refractive Errors

Causes
	Eyes do not grow to right size or shape
Symptoms/Signs
	Headache
	Watering
	Holding the books closer/far to the eye
	Sitting near to the blackboard
	Squeezing of the eyes
Preventive Measures
	Pre school screening

Squint

Causes
	In balance of muscles
Symptoms/Signs
	Eyes pointed in different directions
Preventive Measures
	Early treatment

Trauma

Causes
	Injury
	Accidents
	Harmful eye practices
Preventive Measures
	Good eye care practices
	Avoid playing with sharp edged toys/ objects

Glaucoma

Causes
	May be Hereditary
	Rubella
	Unknown
Symptoms/Signs
	Decreased peripheral vision
	Pain in the eye
Preventive Measures
	Screen new born
	Genetic counseling
	Rubella immunization

Retinopathy of Prematurity

Causes
	Premature Birth
	Low birth weight
	Hereditary
Symptoms/Signs
	Abnormal growth of blood vessels can cause bleeding.
Preventive Measures
	Good nutrition during pregnancy
	Screening of premature babies

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