BAGUIO CITY – Some 1,500 kindergarten up to third graders from public schools here have been tested for possible eye refraction problems, an issue that ophthalmologists from a government-run hospital aim to address.
Dr. Lilette Marie Canilao, medical specialist III at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center’s (BGHMC) Ophthalmology Department, on Friday said some of the students “were discovered to be suffering from eye refraction problem.”
She said the tests were conducted as part of the Sight Saving Month celebration which highlights stakeholders’ advocacy of protecting the eyes and having children three to five years old as well as diabetic patients to have eye check-up.
Canilao said eye screening of children started as early as 2014 but studies were never conducted until recently when data were collected.
“This is a good study material to see how many children in the Cordillera have poor vision. From just screening, our schools now keep a data and we now have a mechanism so that we can detect and help those children that need to be attended to,” she said.
“This is the time that the eyes are developing. This is the time that you can reverse the condition and can still be corrected,” she added.
Canilao said the Baguio eye health team includes personnel from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, Luke Foundation, Department of Education, Philippine Society of Ophthalmologists, and the Philippine Society of Optometrists.
Among those who benefited from the eye examination is Evangeline Rosario’s five-year-old granddaughter who is studying at the Quirino Elementary School and who refused to attend school because of regular headaches that bar her from playing with other children.
Rosario said her granddaughter already attended several therapy sessions that improved her condition and encouraged her to regularly attend school.
Aside from free eye examinations, the team also provides training to public school nurses on detecting eye problem among children.
“This advocacy should not stop so that we can assure that no children are left behind because of eye problems,” Canilao added. (PNA)
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