SOME 26 youths between the ages of seven and 17 saw their vision improve tremendously after spectacles with prescription were given to them in conjunction with the World Sight Day on Oct 13.
The effort by Universiti Teknologi Mara’s ophthalmology faculty of medicine (UiTM) kicked off several weeks ago when the team screened about 150 children from various homes in Selangor.
Aimed at creating awareness about eye health, the programme, which was the faculty’s first, was made possible with sponsorship worth RM4,000 from Carlzeiss.
It’s importa nt: UiTM’s medical lecturer and ophthalmologist Dr Miswan Muiz Mahyudin explaining proper eyecare to some of the children. UiTM senior lecturer and consultant ophthalmologist Dr Sushil Kumar Vasudevan said eye-health awareness among children was crucial in correcting any eye-related problem, especially the lazy eye syndrome.
“The syndrome refers to a vision development disorder in which an eye fails to achieve normal visual acuity, even with prescription glasses or contact lenses.
It usually begins during infancy and early childhood and often, only one eye is affected. However in some cases, it can occur in both eyes,” he explained.
Dr Sushil said a child’s sight developed from birth and the visual system was only fully developed between the ages of eight and 10.
“If lazy eyes are not addressed, a child can end up with squinting eyes. So eye check-ups are crucial during these years for early detection because after that it will be too late for corrective surgery or treatments,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of eye-screening after the age of 40 for early detection of conditions such as cataract, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and diabetes retinopathy among diabetics.
“If spotted during its early developments, it is easier to control and treat.
“That is why it is important to really pay attention to eye check-ups after a person turns 40,” he said.
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