Fifty per cent of Vietnamese students suffer from short-sightedness, a survey conducted by the Central Eye Hospital has revealed. — Photo baogiaothong.vn

HÀ NỘI — Fifty per cent of Vietnamese students suffer from short-sightedness, a survey conducted by the Central Eye Hospital has revealed.

The figure rises to 80 per cent in big cities and is expected to increase in the coming years, according to the survey.

The hospital survey that was release last weekend, found that children living in urban areas faced a high risk of eye refractive defects because they spent most of their time indoors.

The doctors have said the main cause was children having little time for outdoor activities, a long educational day with after-school tutoring and an increase in the use of computers, televisions and smart phones.

Long hours of learning, reading and playing games on the internet may lead to eye strain which causes an increase in eye-related diseases and defects, doctors said.

During holidays, children flocked to the hospitals or opticians for examination and to buy glasses.

Lê Minh Quốc, a father of a ten year old child, said that it was very crowded when he took his son to Hà Nội Eye Hospital on Saturday for optical treatment.

“Today is Saturday, but many parents take their children here for a medical examination. I can’t believe so many children nowadays have become short-sighted,” Quốc said.

A doctor at a big shop on Giảng Võ Street said the number of children coming to the shop increased sharply during the holidays.

The children aged from 7 to 13, are the most likely to be affected, Dr Nguyễn Đức Cường said.

Cường said many told him that they often play games on the internet and spend a lot of time reading, particularly during the summer holidays.

Others said they have to learn so much in school and after-school.

Trần Tố Uyên, a mother of a seventh-grade student, said her son had to start wearing glasses three years ago.

Besides studying at school, her son attended three extra lessons a week.

“I did not detect earlier that my son faced problems with his eyes and when I took him to the hospital, his eyes were affected by serious myopia,” Uyên said.

The problem was that many parents are too busy for the early detection of eye diseases.

So many of children suffered serious myopia due to not receiving early examination, doctors warned.

The ambient light in many classrooms is not enough for students and it was also the cause of the high rate of short-sightedness amongst children.

There were also some other factors which led to short-sightedness, among them, genetic factors. To protect children’s eyesight, doctors said, parents should let children play outdoor as much as possible along with limitations on reading, use of computers and mobile phones.

Poor eyesight can be recovered with timely examinations, they said. — VNS