Due to the large number of blindness cases in the world that would have been prevented with proper medical care, it was established the World Sight Day; which is an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October, this year was on October 9. This year, the event was part of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Action Plan and the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) encouraged members and partners to continue with the rolling theme: “No More Avoidable Blindness.”
IAPB and the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) selected Mexico to host this important event, in recognition of its efforts to eradicate trachoma and onchocerciasis, diseases that cause vision loss.
Currently, there are 39 million blind people in the world and 246 million have moderate or severe visual impairment. Disgracefully, more than 60 percent of blindness cases are caused by preventable or treatable diseases. To avoid this, it is essential to develop, implement and expand actions on eye health.
In Mexico, more than a million people are visually impaired. The main causes are refractive problems, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and macular degeneration. 63 percent of cases are caused by cataracts; which is a preventable blindness. It is estimated that 300,000 surgeries are required to treat them.
“The preventive health models represent a crucial strategy to treat and prevent these diseases,” said Enrique Graue Wiechers, director of the Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and ICO Vice-President.
Enrique Grauge explained that the nationwide annual cost of these conditions amounts to seven billion dollars. The largest part of this amount is due to the lack of labor productivity of patients and caregivers. Therefore, receiving timely care is crucial.
In the coming days, the Council for the Prevention and Treatment of Eye Diseases deliver to the Ministry of Health the first projects of a global action plan. “The most urgent actions are cataracts care and refractive errors,” he said.
Graue Wiechers recommended doing the first visual screening test at the age of five. After forty, it is necessary to go to the eye doctor every two years. Diabetics should go to tests their vision every six months.
Ocular refractive errors — myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia and astigmatism — are visually impairments that cab be corrected with glasses or contact lenses.
With the exception of presbyopia (inability to focus on close objects as a result of ageing), the other refractive error conditions can be diagnosed at an early age. In Mexico, four million lenses have been given to children suffering from these visual impairments, including in rural areas.
According to the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2012, 6.4 million Mexicans reported having been diagnosed with diabetes. High levels of blood sugar cause diabetic retinopathy, comprising 8 to 10 percent of preventable blindness cases.
It is essential to integrate diabetic retinopathy in new models of care focused on patients with diabetes. Mexico needs comprehensive diabetes clinics that offer specialized treatment and monitoring for visual conditions, Graue Wiechers said.
ICO Vice-President said that by 2030 elder population will triple in Mexico. This will result in a significant increase of people with cataracts and diabetic retinopathy; therefore, it is essential to have a future vision action plan.
Finally, the also UNAM’s Faculty of Medicine Director mentioned that it is necessary to establish better systems to detect glaucoma, which accounts for 8 percent of avoidable blindness cases. While on the macular degeneration related to age, he mentioned the importance of joining a rehabilitation program.
Through: DGCS – UNAM
