Many students could be silently suffering from an eye condition that is making them perform poorly in class, experts say.

According to a study done by optometrists at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, the condition known as Decompensated Heterophobia (DH) occurs when the two eyes are not directed towards the fixation point (maintaining of the visual gaze on a single location for some time).

The optometrists say the condition causes poor reading ability among students, especially when doing other related activities such as typing on a computer.

"Efficient and comfortable reading is important in the intellectual development and academic performance of a child.

"Children with decompensated heterophobia either do not present themselves in clinics for checkup or are misdiagnosed or completely overlooked by clinicians,” says Dr Emmanuel Okenwa, the lead researcher in the study, who is also the chairman of the Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences in the university.

During the study, a total of 332 secondary school students aged 13-18 from eight public and two private institutions in Kakamega Central Sub-county were examined.

The DH was found to be prevalent among 33 per cent of the students, 70 per cent of whom were girls and 38 per cent were 16 years old.

Blurred vision

The study was carried out between November 2016 and June this year and presented at the second World Optometry Conference in India last month.

The study says DH symptoms include asthenopia or eye strain, which comes as a result of fatigue; pain in or around the eyes; blurred vision; headache after working on a computer machine for long hours; feeling sleepy and dizziness.

Dr Okenwa says they established that some students did not attend eye clinics for checkup before being given reading glasses they use and others were misdiagnosed.

Gilbert Lumbasi, an optometrist at Optica Kakamega branch, says the condition can be managed if detected early.

"A patient who has muscle defect undergoes muscle surgery when he is still below nine years of age. Those who are above nine are given glasses with prisms. Those who are short-sighted are given divergent glasses whereas the long-sighted ones are given convergent lenses to help them in reading,” says Lumbasi.

He says students should eat foods that are rich in Omega 3 acids, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and E to enable them have a good vision.

The Standard