Hyderabad: World Sight Day is celebrated on the second Thursday of October every year globally with the aim of spreading awareness about the causes of blindness and loss of vision, various eye diseases, and issues related to their care among the general public. In the year 2022, this special day is being celebrated on October 13th with the theme "#Love your Eyes".
Our eyes are considered the most important among our sensory organs, as they introduce us to the whole world. But our eyes are also considered to be the most sensitive part of our body. Because even a slight problem in these can not only weaken our vision but can also cause blindness at times. Every year a large number of people around the world face blindness or loss of vision due to negligence, accident, or disease.
The celebration of World Sight Day was started by Lions Club International. Earlier, the International Blindness Prevention Agency, with the help of the World Health Organization, launched "Vision 2020" on 18 February 1999. The main objective of this is to promote the need for eye care services on a global scale, to make people aware of common and complex eye-related problems, to provide help and direct their treatment, and to bring attention to blindness and other vision-related issues.
For the past several years, "Vision 2020" has ensured better eye care and the right to vision for everyone and addressed issues such as the causes of blindness or loss of vision at all ages and their treatments. In particular, awareness campaigns have been conducted on issues related to the prevention and treatment of cataracts, trachoma, low vision, cranial, glaucoma, and refractive errors.
Usually, doctors insist on regular eye exams after the age of 40, as in general, after the age of 40, there is a slight weakness in vision. At the same time, with increasing age, the risk of seeing the effects of certain types of diseases like glaucoma and Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD), etc. also increases.
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Dr. Mahesh Joshi, an ophthalmologist from Indore, says that regular eye check-up is very important not just for elders but also for small children. Usually, young children do not understand the constant headaches, any problem in the eyes, or vision-related problems and are unable to inform their family members about it. In such situations, with regular eye check-ups, timely information can be received about eye problems in children.
He explains that parents should not ignore the condition of children having itchy eyes, redness, or any kind of spot or stain in the eye and should get the eyes checked by an ophthalmologist immediately. Dr. Mahesh explains that in current times another biggest problem causing many eye-related problems not only for children but also for elders is their increasing screen time on mobile, laptops, or computers.
He explains that it is very important to limit the amount of time spent on computers and mobiles as far as possible to avoid problems arising due to the increase in screen time. If this is not possible due to studies, jobs, or other reasons, then it is necessary to try to take some time away from the screen at regular intervals while working. For this, the 20:20 procedure can also be followed, under which after every 20 minutes, rest your eyes for at least 20 seconds and look at some other place.
Dr. Mahesh explains that our diet, physical hygiene, and exercise also play a very important role in keeping our eyesight strong and our eyes healthy. At the same time, some people use drops in the eyes on the advice of a chemist without consulting a doctor, if there is itching or any kind of problem in the eyes, which can sometimes cause vision impairment or eye disease. Therefore, if there is any kind of problem with the eyes, any medicine should not be used without consulting a doctor.
Sometimes accidents are also responsible for blindness or injury to the eyes. In such a situation, while doing any work in which there is a possibility of injury to the eyes, protective glasses must be worn. Apart from this, while going out in the sun, always wear good quality glasses to protect the eyes from the ultraviolet rays of the sun.
