SOUTH Africa’s state eye care falls far below international standards.
There are 64 state hospitals with eye clinics in South Africa – which means one clinic for every 800 000 people. Services in the private sector, for those who have medical aids or private means, are excellent but for those who need access to underfunded state eye care the position is critical.
The government has committed to establishing a national health plan but with only 342 registered ophthalmologists catering to over 51-million people it could take 10 years to train enough skilled eye specialists to even come close to the desired density.
So with such abysmal eye care facilities what can we do to protect our precious vision?
* We should never smoke as this increases our risk for both cataract and age-related macular degeneration. This is a serious retinal condition that affects an estimated 130 000 South Africans – mostly in the Caucasian population.
* We need to follow a healthy diet full of leafy green and multi-coloured veggies coupled with oily fish twice weekly. This diet has shown good retinal protective qualities.
* Protection against high levels of sunlight (UVa and UVb) will also protect your retinas. NEVER look directly into the sun as this could cause permanent retinal damage.
* Gazing for hours, uninterrupted at TV, computer and smart phone screens can cause eye strain. Follow the 20:20:20 rule – after 20 minutes change your focus and look as far away as possible (20 metres) for at least 20 seconds.
* Have regular eye checks. Increased ocular pressure which leads to glaucoma is easily detected by an optometrist and responds well to early intervention.
* Children should have an eye test after the age of three and definitely before entering grade one. Most optometric groups offer subsidised or free testing for children under the age of 12. It is estimated that over 200 000 children may need spectacles to treat refractive error.
* With obesity and diabetes on the rise worldwide, the risk of developing diabetic retinopathy is also increasing. The only way of preventing this serious loss of vision in later life is to control blood/insulin levels and excessive weight gain in your younger years. Late stage treatments are not always effective.
(Information from Retina South Africa)
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