Abstract:

Background: Eye diseases in children are important cause of medical consultation, study of the prevalence of ocular diseases is very important because some eye conditions are just causes of ocular morbidity and may lead to blindness. Children should receive prompt and proper eye care in order to avoid vision problems and eye morbidities, which could affect their learning ability, personality and adjustment in school. Vision is an important requirement for learning and communication. (1)

Objectives: This study aimed at determining magnitude of eye diseases among children attending Bugando Medical Centre eye clinic

Methodology: A cross sectional descriptive study was done; the study will involve all patients with eye diseases among children’s attending ophthalmology OPD at Bugando Medical Centre. The study was conducted for 8 weeks.

Results: Magnitude of eye diseases among children attending BMC eye clinic, out of the 152 (100%) sample, the highest prevalence was conjunctivitis 29.7%: that including allergic conjunctivitis 18, chronic conjunctivitis 5.8 and brephro conjunctivitis 3.9. This was followed by refractive error 16.8%: that including hyperopia 5.8, myopia 9.1, convergence insufficiency 0.1 and cortical blindness 1.3. Lastly was cataract 9%: that include congenital cataract 5.2%, traumatic cataract 3.2% and developmental cataract 0.6%. With large number of patient coming from Mwanza and nearby regions. Also with more female patient than male, with more young children affected most.

Conclusion and Recommendation: In conclusion, it is a difficult task to detect and treat children with ocular morbidity because they are unable to articulate their problems and are sometimes are not cooperative for examination and treatment. However, it is important to approach children with the same pattern with which one would approach an adult. As BMC attends most of patient from Mwanza and the nearby regions. The most affected aged group is from 0 to 6 years with common causes of childhood ocular morbidity in this study were conjunctivitis, and refractive errors, cataract and ocular injuries. These disorders require attention of all health professionals for complete management or early referral because they lead to visual impairment and blindness. Health education is necessary for the prevention of childhood eye injuries, as well as early presentation of children to eye care centers for the treatment of eye disorders.