President of the Nigerian Optometric Association, Ozy Okonokhua, has advised Nigerians to go for regular eye checks in order to spot signs of blindness and other diseases early enough.
The Optometrist who spoke to a top media platform on Thursday to mark the World Glaucoma Week also explained reasons for marking the week.
He said glaucoma remained one of the “sneakiest” of all sight diseases because it shows no discernable symptoms in most cases at its early stage.
He said there was a need to raise awareness in Nigeria for people to seek routine eye check-up as the current awareness level was very low.
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He said: “Presently a lot of the people who are suffering from visual impairment globally are as a result of glaucoma, so it is important that all eye care providers especially those in the sight care profession pay attention to glaucoma to reduce the scourge.
“It’s only on occasions like this or during public health enlightenment that we normally sensitize the public. You hardly find a patient that walks into the clinic telling you to check their eye for glaucoma.”
He said glaucoma was the third leading cause of blindness globally, adding that the danger was that the blindness resulting from it is irreversible.
Okonokhua also highlighted five reasons why it is important for every family to have a regular eye examination.
It Helps In Detection Of Other Health Problems
A regular eye check will reveal the presence or absence of other systemic diseases in the body because through the eyes we can see what is happening in the body.
So, when you look at the eye you will know if the patient has hypertension or diabetes, which also shows manifestation in the eye.
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Detect Eye Diseases Early
Most times patients are not aware that glaucoma is going on in the eye, so you may be walking around and seeing clearly without knowing that glaucoma is having damage in the eye.
So, it’s only when you go for routine checkups that the doctor can determine whether or not you have glaucoma by looking out for certain signs in the eye or running a test.
Doctors Can Monitor Changes
Often times most of the eye conditions that patients have can happen in one eye without the person knowing. So, people are seeing but are not aware that they are seeing with just one pupil.
But when you run a routine eye check-up, the doctor can ascertain if the eyes are in good working conditions or affected.
Help Children Succeed In School.
Vision is the best way to educate a child so if a child is not seeing clearly, that child’s performance academically will drop. So, you need to ascertain the visual health status of that child.
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Overall Prevention
Early detection helps to avert damages in the eye. So, the earlier we seek help the better our chances of preventing disease in the eye.
In all health conditions, early detection and commencement of treatment help suspend the growth or advancement of any disease.
Meanwhile, Okonokhua disclosed that Myopia (nearsightedness) is fast becoming an epidemic in Nigeria, stressing that myopia could lead to other major conditions like retinal detachment.
“So, it is better to do routine check at an early stage to shut down the effect of these diseases,” he said.
World Glaucoma Week is observed globally in the month of March every year.
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