Saki: Community with too many eye problems

For Mr Mudasiru Aderibigbe, a commercial motorcyclies in Iseyin, a town in the Northeastern part of Oyo State, the day started with patronage booming. But it ended with a ball being played by a group of children hitting him on his face, injuring his eye. He sought treatment at an eye clinic in the town where he was prescribed many medicines and eye drop.

“After the pain subsided, I stopped going to the eye clinic. But five months afterwards, the eye again began to trouble me. While riding commercial motorcycles, my eye felt as if there was dirt in it. Despite rubbing my eyes, the dirt persisted,” Mr Aderibigbe said.

The 60-year-old Aderigbe’s sight was no longer clear and to ensure the continuity of his okada business, he was told to continue his N3, 000 per month medication until he could assess cataract surgery to ensure he could see well again.

Mr Oyebanji Oyewunmi, however, sustained an eye injury when a stem of a plant pricked his left eye at age 8.  Now, the 65-year-old, only functional eye feels cloudy and requires a surgical intervention that he cannot afford.  Unfortunately, due to his poor sight, he left schooling after he had obtained the primary school certificate.

But Mrs Moradehun Olaoye was educated despite her poor eyesight and itchy eyes at a tender age. The 75-year-old retired primary school teacher at Kajola was able to cope with learning at school with her prescription glasses.

However, some years back during an eye treatment outreach at Kajola, Oyo state Mrs Olaoye complained that she could not see far distances even when wearing her glasses. She was told that she had a cataract, and would require surgery when it was ripe to restore her sight.

Interestingly, these are three of the five individuals whose sights were restored through a cataract surgery during Oyo State free medical mission in April at the State Specialist Hospital, Saki. Over 300 persons received reading glasses and medications for their eye problems.

About two out of every three individuals were at the state government’s free medical and surgical intervention because of poor eye sight.  Others at the venue included those with hernia and other medical conditions like hypertension, infections and malaria.

A national blindness and visual impairment survey conducted in 2005-2007 estimated that 1.13 million individuals aged 40 years are currently blind in Nigeria. A further 2.7 million adults aged 40 years are estimated to have a moderate visual impairment and an additional 400,000 adults are severely visually impaired. Also, 4.25 million adults aged 40 years in Nigeria are visually impaired or blind.

The study indicated that cataract was the commonest cause of severe visual impairment and blindness, but 45.3 per cent and 43.0 per cent respectively. Glaucoma was the second commonest cause of blindness. 84 per cent of blindness was due to avoidable causes while uncorrected refractive errors were the commonest cause of mild and moderate visual impairment.

Dr Adedibu Aderounmu, head State Specialist Hospital, Saki, said that during the inauguration of the hospital, the Okere of Saki  had acknowledged eye complaints as a problem that people in the community sought medical assistance for across board.

He added: “We don’t have the facility here but we are hopeful that very soon, it will be institutionalized. We want an ophthalmology department established; it is very important.”

Dr Aderounmu, a principal medical officer, stated that simple eye problems like bacterial or viral conjunctivitis were treated at the hospital, but complex conditions like cataract and glaucoma had to be referred to other hospitals.

The hospital’s secretary, Mr Babalola Akinola, said setting aside a day for an ophthalmologist to come into treat individuals with eye problem would be helpful.

He added: “When we did cataract extraction for my dad, I had to take him to Ibadan. Ibadan is far. If we can enjoy this sort of arrangement, the community will be better and happy.”

Dr Wale Falano, coordinator of the free medical mission in Oyo State, stated that eye and dental care services were new additions to the state government’s free medical and surgical mission, because people kept clamouring for these services given the success of last year’s free medical mission by Oyo State government.

The free medical mission, which had two ophthalmologists, general surgeon, dentists, optometrists and medical specialist, he said, began offering free eye surgery and eyeglasses in Saki to ensure that particularly hard to reach areas can access treatment.

Falano, the director, secondary health care and training at the Oyo State Ministry of Health, declared: “People who cannot afford to take care of their eye problem need not resort to self-medication or suffer in silence. Now, the government is asking all such individuals to come for free eye care and this is why we are in Saki and we will be moving around the state to ensure more people benefit from free eye care.”

Dr Oladejo Olawale, head, Department of Ophthalmology, LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso and one of the doctors involved in the eye surgeries, however said the eye problems seen in Saki were not too different from those in the Southwestern region of Nigeria.

According to him, the eye problems seemed to be more in Saki because of lack of access to eye care services.

He stated: “The incidence of eye problems in Saki is not more than that in other parts of South Western Nigeria; it only looks as if the number is more because they don’t have eye professionals in the area. For example, the state Specialist Hospital has no ophthalmologist or optometrist. These are prime eye health workers that take care of the common eye complaints.”

Dr Olawale however said  injury to the eye, say from working on the farm, may have contributed to people in Saki developing a cataract with dust and allergens in the environment predisposing to allergic eye diseases such as conjunctivitis.

In ensuring good eyesight, Dr Olawale advised people in the community to protect their eyes from injuries and foreign bodies when working in the farm, report any eye symptoms they have to the nearest eye centre promptly, abstain from self-medication, and have a yearly eye check-up.

Clear vision isn’t a birthright for all mankind; it’s a privilege and so is the ability to correct poor sight. Ultimately, everyone needs eye care at some point in life and providing succour through medical missions will no doubt be appreciated by people whose vision are restored will now and for a long time to come.

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents

In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…

Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train

The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…

[ICYMI] Lekki Shootings: Why We Lied About Our Presence — General Taiwo

The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing the killings at Lekki Toll Gate, on Saturday resumed viewing of the 24hrs footage of the October 20, 2020 shooting of #EndSARS protesters by personnel of the Nigerian Army…

ICYMI: How We Carried Out The 1993 Nigerian Airways Hijack —Ogunderu

On Monday, October 25, 1993, in the heat of June 12 annulment agitations, four Nigerian youngsters, Richard Ajibola Ogunderu, Kabir Adenuga, Benneth Oluwadaisi and Kenny Razak-Lawal, did the unthinkable! They hijacked an Abuja-bound aircraft, the Nigerian Airways airbus A310, and diverted it to Niger Republic. How did they so it? Excerpts…