GLAUCOMA
CAN POSSIBLY CAUSE BAD DRIVING—EXPERT
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n eye expert, Dr
Olutoke Ayorinde has cautioned Nigerians to be wary of drivers that continually
experience minor damages resulting from accidents on one side of their
vehicles, saying such drivers may actually be on the way to becoming blind due
to glaucoma.
Dr
Ayorinde, a consultant community ophthalmologist, stated this during this
year’s World Glaucoma Day celebration at the University College Hospital (UCH),
Ibadan, Oyo State and free eye screening exercise.
According
to her, a significant loss in side vision due to glaucoma may account for such
accidents, particularly when one side of the vehicle is most often affected.
The
eye expert, noting that glaucoma was the second most common cause of blindness
in the world, stated that the eye problem initially does not give any symptom.
According
to her, “central vision is the last thing to be affected, that is what is seen
directly. Before then, the side vision would have gone.”
Dr
Ayorinde, describing glaucoma as a preventable and treatable cause of
irreversible blindness, stated that people most at risk of developing the eye
condition includes people of black origin, with high intraocular pressure
(IOP), family history of blindness, older people and those that had experienced
eye injury in the past.
In
addition, she stated that smoking, use of alcohol and diseases like diabetes
may also worsen the eye problem.
Glaucoma,
a silent thief of sight, she said is increasingly now diagnosed in young
Nigerians, a situation she said calls for people to be more proactive about
their eye health.
“It
is not that glaucoma in the younger patients is different, but the rate at
which blindness can result from it is faster. So instead of getting to the dead
end, why do not you pick it early, do something about it and ensure that your
vision is kept for long,” she declared.
The
expert, who remarked that blindness should not be a sign of ageing as many
presumed, stated “this week we wanted to create the awareness that glaucoma is
here with us, that blindness from it is preventable and that it is a treatable
disease.
While
stressing the need for regular eye tests, she urged people not to change
their prescription glasses without a prior eye test to ensure early detection
of eye problems like glaucoma.
Ayorinde
also cautioned against patronising road side opticians, saying a detailed eye
examination should not be just asking to read and trying on some lenses.
“Glaucoma
is not reversible, but its early detection and proper management prevents this
blindness and this indeed can save a lot of fortune,” she concluded. READ MORE
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