WSD: Nigerians advised on eye care

CHAIRMAN, Eleta Eye Foundation, Dr Gboyega Ajayi says Nigerians should love their eyes by avoiding poor diet, abuse of drugs and alcohol and ensuring they have a yearly check from an eye medical doctor from the age of 40.

Dr Ajayi, speaking on the World Sight Day (WSD) theme “Love your Eyes” to put focus on eyes, stated that loving one’s eye involves Nigerians obeying the dos and don’ts for good eyesight, including avoidance of smoking, herbal preparations due to adulteration of alcohol, diets and poor intake of green vegetables and fruits.

According to him, “smoking is not good for the eyes; there are people that have gone blind from taking some herbal preparations made with alcohol adulterated with wood alcohol, and there are drugs like chloroquine that when abused have been confirmed can and have caused blindness.

“Cyanide in poorly processed garri in individuals deficient in some B vitamins can damage the eye, leading to blindness; also fatty meals especially those with saturated fats shouldn’t be taken in large amounts because they can cause blindness. Eating plenty of fruits and green leafy vegetables is good for the eyes.”

Dr Ajayi emphasised the need for drug adherence for diseases like diabetes and hypertension to prevent them from leading to blindness as well as yearly eye checks from an eye care doctor.

According to him, “people with existing health conditions like diabetes and hypertension are at increased risk of going blind, especially if they do not use their medications regularly. I have seen women that after pregnancy did not take care of their blood pressure and it eventually damages their eyes.”

He declared that like care is paid to physical assets and loved ones, creating out time for eye tests at least once a year by a competent eye medical doctor is important even when everything looks normal.

He declared, “most common eye test that is done in many centres is the Visual acuity test, it measures the ability of the eye to distinguish shapes and the details of objects at a given distance. It can be normal even in the presence of a severe eye problem.

“Even when it is normal, one still needs to see an eye medical doctor for a comprehensive eye test at least once a year if above 40 years and at least once in two years if younger than 40 years to rule out any eye problem.”