4 in 5 cases of blindness are avoidable

Vision is like what blood is to heart. Most of us are fortunate to be equipped with good eyesight to see the wonderful world around us. The World Sight Day is celebrated annually on October 9 to raise awareness on blindness and vision impairment.

What do people do on World Sight Day?

The UN’s directing and coordinating authority of health, the World Health Organisation (WHO), alongside the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) actively involve and coordinate events and activities for World Sight Day. Besides, NGOs and other associations like the Lions Clubs International also actively involve in promoting the day and help create awareness.

Preventing blindness caused by diabetes

The WHO reports that four in five cases of blindness globally are avoidable and hence the call for this year’s World Sight Day is ‘No More Avoidable Blindness’.

Working for the same, the Lions Club of Hyderabad Sadhuram Eye Hospital is organising a diabetic retinopathy screening from October 9 to 14 at its premises at Domalguda from 9 am to 1.30 pm.

This screening will be performed at a subsidised rate of Rs 500 per sitting, except on Sundays. Diabetic retinopathy is damage caused to the retina by complications of diabetes, which can eventually lead to blindness. It is an ocular manifestation of diabetes, a systemic disease, which affects up to 80 per cent of all patients who have had diabetes for 10 years or more. Despite these intimidating statistics, research indicates that at least 90 per cent of new cases could be reduced if there was proper and vigilant treatment and monitoring the eyes.

The longer a person has diabetes, the higher his or her chances of developing diabetic retinopathy. Every year in India, diabetic retinopathy accounts for a significant per cent of all new cases of blindness. It is also the leading cause of blindness for people aged 20 to 64 years.