“People should not neglect care of eye”

“People should not neglect care of eye”

By Vikas Vaidya

He is Director of Shri Bhagwan Mahavir Vitreoretinal Services
Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai. It is his post but he has built up a team of dedicated professionals related to Vitreoretinal services at his Netralaya. According to him, though people have become health-conscious but they neglect organ eye. Less number of doctors of other branches too are aware about various eye diseases. For example if one adult diagnosed of diabetes, it needs to be treated with multi-disciplinary approach and it is not happening.
Dr Tarun Sharma, noted Ophthalmologist is in city to attend the installation ceremony of Vidarbha Ophthalmic Society on Sunday. He said, “When a five year old child diagnosed with diabetes, it should check the eyes after five years of diagnosis. But in Type-II diabetes the person should immediately consult his ophthalmologist. The management of diabetes is very important that involves multidisciplinary approach.”
According to Dr Sharma, the prevention is very important. The health education comes under primary prevention, secondary prevention suggest screening and in tertiary prevention one needs to consume medicines properly along with other treatment modalities.
Throwing light on Retinopathy of Prematurity (RoP) (an eye disease that occurs in a small percentage of premature babies where abnormal blood vessels grow on the retina), Dr Sharma said, “It occurs in the baby that has born before completing 32 weeks of pregnancy with weight around 700-800 gms. They should be screened for eye after 4 weeks of their birth and every week it should be examined. It should be done scrupulously.”
Dr Sharma pointed out, “The eye screening for the school-children should be made mandatory.” He also warned parents to take care of their wards especially during festivals, else festival of joy would convert into festival of darkness.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an eye condition that affects a tiny part of the retina at the back of one’s eye, which is called the macula. AMD causes problems with central vision, but does not lead to total loss of sight and is not painful. AMD affects the vision one use when one is looking directly at something, for example during reading, looking at photos or watching television. AMD may make this central vision distorted or blurry and, over a period of time, it may cause a blank patch in the centre of your vision.
Dr Sharma said, “The occurrence of AMD has increased. Lifestyle changes is the main reason. No health and proper diet, sedentary lifestyle are the reasons. Eye is an important organ and it should be well taken care of. Only those people can understand well who have lost their eyes. After losing nothing remain.”