Healthy Vision Month

"Eye Safety is Everyone's Business"

Dr Parul M. Sharma, Senior Consultant Eye Surgeon, Max Hospital, Gurgaon helps us in understanding the why, what and how of eye diseases.

"Eye Safety is Everyone's Business" has been chosen by National Eye Institute (NEI) as the subject matter for this year’s May observance of Healthy Vision month.

So, what is it about your eyes which is so important? Yes sees the world through it, your beloved would look at them deeply to talk to your soul. But do we realize its importance till the time one of us or our family member encounters a disease which could be prevented by early detection.

Most of the eye diseases in their initial phase are silent and have no symptoms. By the time patient comes to us with visual complaints, many diseases like glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy etc are irreversible. Many sight threatening diseases, if detected early, can be cured or treated to prevent or slow the progression of vision loss. For many eye diseases, early detection becomes the key to prevention. It is one of the most important things a person can do to preserve his good vision.

For early detection of disease we all need to know when to visit the doctor for routine eye examinations.

• All children between 3-4 years of age should be screened for refractive errors ie spectacle power and amblyopia-lazy eye. Most of the schools these days have a vision screening programme where children with diminished eye sight are detected and parents are informed to take them to an eye doctor for further evaluation. An early eye examination is recommended if there is a strong family history of spectacle use, child is blinking frequently, squinting his eyes to see, watering or rubbing of eyes or watching objects, especially TV from a close distance. The treatment of lazy eye is possible till 7 years of age and hence the need of early detection of weak vision or squint.
• All myopes (shortsighted-wearing minus spectacle power) should get their retina screened every 2 years to detect any peripheral break /degeneration. This if not detected in time may sometime lead to serious complications like retinal detachment. Mostly retinal breaks have no symptoms and only few cause flashes of light, which require urgent fundus examination. 
• All diabetics must undergo detailed eye checkup yearly. The chances of having cataract and glaucoma are higher in diabetics’ than in general population. Most important is to detect diabetic retinopathy early, as the changes, which occur, are irreversible. The chances of your developing diabetic retinopathy are related to blood sugar levels and duration of diabetes. The back portion of our eye called retina where the image is formed develops blood spots, exudates etc which can cause decrease in vision. In advanced stages, there can be bleeding inside eye leading to loss of vision. If detected in time we do retinal laser which stops further progression of disease. Strict control of diabetes with medication, diet and life style modifications as advised by the treating physician is a must to prevent diabetic retinopathy.
• All individuals above 40 should undergo intraocular pressure check as a part of routine eye checkup to detect Glaucoma. This is a silent disease and may lead to irreversible visual loss .If detected in time it can be managed well by medicines, laser or surgery. You should definitely get your eye pressure check yearly if

1. There is a family history of glaucoma.
2. You have diabetes or thyroid disease. 
3. You have used steroids in past.

• All individuals above 50 years of age with decrease in vision should also be examined for Cataract & ARMD-age related macular degeneration. Though by and large these diseases are age related, ultraviolet light and nutrition have a role to play too.

Never ignore any redness of eye, cloudy vision, difficulty with current glasses, seeing flashes of light-seek medical opinion immediately.

Wish you and your family a healthy sightseeing lifelong!

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