Dr. Hemalatha Vidyashankar, Dr. Gauri Khare
Background : Asthenopia is a frequent and relevant clinical problem in childhood, with potential consequences on learning abilities. It affects efficient reading and performance of near tasks like reading and writing. Many times parents ignore these symptoms of children, thinking them to be non specific. The parents feel that the child is just trying to seek attention and hence do not bring the child for a timely eye check up. Asthenopia may be defined as diverse subjective symptoms or distress arising from use of the eyes.1,2,3 The term eyestrain has often been used synonymously with asthenopia.2,4 Asthenopia often occurs during reading or performance of near point activities.1,5 In general, the symptoms of asthenopia pose significant diagnostic and treatment challenges, as various anomalies may result in similar symptoms.1,5 Similarities in symptoms highlight the need for a proper differential diagnosis.
Purpose: To study Asthenopia and its association with refractive errors in school children who attended the Pediatric Ophthalmology