Nazar Ki Kamzori in Children: Eye Tests, Glasses and School Performance

A child who squints at the blackboard, sits too close to the television and is described by teachers as inattentive is very often a child who simply cannot see. Pakistan's national blindness and visual impairment survey and subsequent school studies make the pattern clear: in a study of 5,110 children aged 5–15 in South Karachi, low vision affected 2.2%, with uncorrected refractive error the leading cause. Nationally, uncorrected refractive error accounts for a meaningful share of avoidable visual impairment — one analysis attributes 11.4% of blindness in Pakistan to it ("Prevalence of Uncorrected Refractive Error and Other Eye Problems Among Urban and Rural School Children," PMC).

At a glance

• Uncorrected refractive error is the leading cause of low vision in Pakistani schoolchildren
• A pair of glasses is one of the cheapest, highest-impact interventions in medicine
• Children rarely complain — they assume everyone sees what they see
• Lazy eye (amblyopia) is only treatable in childhood, roughly up to age 7–8. After that the vision loss is permanent
• Poor vision is regularly misread as poor concentration, laziness or a learning problem
• Wearing glasses does not weaken the eyes

Nishaniyan — jo walidain ko nazar aati hain

• Board se likhne mein mushkil, ya class mein aage baithne ki zid
• TV ya mobile ke bohat qareeb jana (TV ke paas ja kar baithna)
• Aankhein michmichana ya bheenchna (aankhein sikorna)
• Aankhein malna, paani aana, ya roshni se chubhan
• Sar dard, khas taur par school ke baad — see our guide to headache
• Parhte waqt kitab bohat qareeb rakhna, ya ungli rakh kar parhna
• Ek aankh band kar ke dekhna, ya sar terha kar ke dekhna
• Bhengapan — ek aankh ka andar ya bahar ki taraf jana
• School mein achanak karkardagi girna, ya "dhyan nahi deta" ki shikayat
• Cheezon se takrana, khas taur par kam roshni mein

When to have eyes tested

Even with no symptoms: a newborn check, again at 6–12 months, at around 3 years, before starting school, and then every one to two years through the school years. Sooner at any age if there is squint, a family history of squint, lazy eye or high refractive error, prematurity, or any of the signs above.

Children do not report blurred vision because they have no basis for comparison — a child who has always seen a blurred blackboard assumes blackboards are blurred. This is why screening exists and why waiting for a complaint fails.

The common problems

• Myopia (short-sight, door ki nazar kamzor) — distance blurred; the fastest-rising problem globally, linked to close work and little time outdoors
• Hypermetropia (long-sight) — near work tiring; can cause headaches and, in children, squint
• Astigmatism — blur at all distances from an unevenly curved cornea
• Squint / strabismus (bhengapan) — eyes not aligned; needs assessment promptly, not "he'll grow out of it"
• Amblyopia (lazy eye) — the brain suppresses the weaker eye. Treatable only while the visual system is developing, roughly to age 7–8. Treatment is glasses plus patching or drops for the stronger eye
• Colour vision deficiency — worth knowing about early, as it affects some career paths

Slowing myopia — what the evidence supports

• Two hours outdoors daily. This is the best-supported preventive measure; outdoor light appears to slow the eye's elongation
• The 20-20-20 rule for near work: every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds
• Read at about 30 cm, in good light, sitting up rather than lying down
• Limit recreational screen time; keep screens at arm's length
• Ask an optometrist about myopia-control options (specific spectacle lenses, low-dose atropine, orthokeratology) if your child's number is rising quickly year on year

Carrots do not improve eyesight beyond correcting an actual vitamin A deficiency, and no exercise or eye drop reverses an existing refractive error.

Getting it checked

An optometrist measures vision and prescribes glasses; an ophthalmologist (eye specialist) treats disease and performs surgery, including squint surgery. For a routine school-age vision check and glasses, an optometrist is usually the right first stop — you can find optometrists on DoctorOS and book directly.

Children under about 7, and any child with squint or suspected lazy eye, should have a cycloplegic refraction — drops that relax focusing so the true prescription is measured. Without it, children's strong focusing muscles hide the real number.

Find care: browse optometrists near you on DoctorOS — filter by city, distance and rating, and book without a phone call.

Frequently asked questions

Kya chashma lagane se nazar aur kamzor ho jati hai?

Nahi. Yeh sab se aam ghalat fehmi hai aur is ki wajah se hazaron bache saalon tak dhundla dekhte rehte hain. Chashma sirf roshni ko theek jagah focus karta hai — aankh ko kamzor nahi karta. Bachpan mein nazar ka number waise bhi barhta hai; log usay chashme ka nateeja samajh lete hain, halankeh yeh qudrati amal hai.

Bacha kehta hai usay saaf nazar aata hai. Phir bhi test karwana chahiye?

Ji haan. Bache ko andaza hi nahi hota ke doosre kya dekh rahe hain — jo usay hamesha se dhundla nazar aa raha hai, woh us ke liye "normal" hai. Isi liye school se pehle aur phir har ek do saal baad test zaroori hai, chahe koi shikayat na ho.

My child has a squint but is only two. Should we wait?

No. A squint after about four months of age needs assessment now, not later. Untreated squint commonly leads to amblyopia, and amblyopia is only treatable while the visual system is still developing — the window closes around age seven or eight.

Does too much mobile use damage eyes permanently?

Prolonged close work is associated with faster progression of short-sight, and screens cause dryness and eye strain — but the strongest protective factor identified in research is time spent outdoors, so the useful intervention is adding outdoor time as much as removing screens.

Sources

• "Prevalence of Uncorrected Refractive Error and Other Eye Problems Among Urban and Rural School Children" (PMC)
• "Community perceptions of refractive errors in Pakistan" (PMC) — national blindness survey context
• "Impact of Refractive Errors on the Academic Performance of High School Children of Lahore," Frontiers in Public Health
• World Health Organization — Blindness and vision impairment

For practitioners: if you're a optometrist, ophthalmologist or paediatric eye specialist in Pakistan, list your practice free on DoctorOS and start taking bookings from patients who are searching for exactly this kind of care.

Cover image: Lighted Eye Chart by sfloptometry, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.