RAWALPINDI: Glaucoma is a dangerous eye ailment that is affecting children in Pakistan. This disease can cause vision problems and even blindness if not cured timely, Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital`s spokesman stated on Wednesday.

The situation has become alarming which is unnerving the eye care professionals, as the victims of this disease are not getting timely treatment, the spokesman for Al-Shifa said.

Al-Shifa Eye Hospital Head of Glaucoma Department Dr Farah Akhtar stated: `If patients got the right help such as proper medicines or an operation, they may not have problems with their eyesight for the rest of their lives.

The doctor added that the eye specialists in Al-Shifa Eye Hospital were experts in treating glaucoma and other eye diseases. She said the hospital provided 80pc free medical and surgical treatment to the patients under the light of its experienced and highly skilled specialists.

Thus, it was crucial for parents to routinely take their kids to the doc-tors so that issues can be identified at the e a r 1i e s t and treated effectively, as glaucoma has been stealing the eyesight of many.She further articulated that the prevalence of glaucoma in children and adults was surging in the world and in Pakistan, but the issues was not receiving the attention it deserved.

Dr Farah emphasised that this disease was a silent killer and gets detected late, but the surgery was not painful at all.

Adding to her statement, she said that the treatment of glaucoma in children needed specialized medical and surgical care with frequent followups, hence, parents of children suffering from childhood glaucoma had to face psychological stress, along with emotional and financial hardships.

Dr Farah mentioned that several types of pediatric glaucoma procedures were conducted every day, with an average of 25 operations per day, adding that due to the effective care provided to these patients, we had been receiving referrals from all over the country and neighboring nations.

A significant portion of glaucoma cases involve secondary causes such as trauma, prior eye surgery, related ocular malformations, or inappropriate steroid usage.

Moreover, careless prescription and usage of over-the-counter eye drops with steroids have impaired the vision of many youngsters, which should be noticed,the doctor said.

It is pertinent to mention that Al-Shifa Eye Hospital in Rawalpindi, Sukkar, Kohat, and Muzaffarabad have performed 22,000 glaucoma surgeries until now, while the total number of glaucoma patients treated to date is more than one hundred thousand.