‘Periodic screening, awareness vital for eyes’

At an age and time, when cataract surgery has advanced to intraocular and laser procedures from the earlier days of thick glasses, cataract continues to be the leading cause of blindness. The condition, which is triggered by ageing, results in the clouding of the eye’s natural lens. 

Lionel Raj, Medical Director, Dr, Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, Southern Tamil Nadu region says, “If we take 100 visually challenged in India, 50 to 60 per cent of them would be related to cataract.” Experts say that the delay in turning up for treatment is largely due to the belief that they have to wait for cataract to mature for surgery. 

D Rajakannan, Head of the Department of Ophthalmology, ESIC Hospital, K.K. Nagar, adds, “Approximately 18 cases of cataract visit the outpatient department at the hospital, every week and apart from these, when we go on field visits at factories we see a number of workers with the condition. But when they don’t turn up for regular checkup , which will help monitor the growth for timely surgery. When the cataract bursts, we can only restore 10-20 per cent of the sight.”

Experts say that given the increase in life expectancy and the fact that the condition affects each one of them at some point in life, there is a need for raising awareness. 

Among other common causes of blindness are diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma—both irreversible forms of blindness--- points out Dr Rajakannan. 

He says, “Out of the 10 cases of diabetic retinopathy (damage occurs to the retina due to diabetes that can eventually lead to blindness), we see in the OP department at our hospital, at least four of them lose sight. It is unfortunate because with frequent screening this can be prevented.” 

Suganeswari Ganesan, Senior Consultant, Vitreoretinal, Sankara Nethralaya, says that in Tamil Nadu, the prevalence rate of Diabetic retinopathy is 18.2 per cent. 

Similarly, glaucoma, which is caused by raised eye pressure that damages optic nerve resulting in permanent loss of vision too can be prevented through screening and timely medical intervention, adds Dr Rajakannan.  Other causes for blindness are injury and tuberculosis-related blindness. 

Doctors say that reversible or irreversible, the key in preventing blindness for all of them is timely diagnosis.