Cataract blindness (3 items)

‘Cataract blindness on the rise’

Nethali Struys

It is revealed that around 100,000 persons end up blind due to cataract every year in Sri Lanka, while this amount globally is estimated at around 18 million.

A number of countrywide programmes have been launched to mark ‘World Blind Day’ on October 13, said Health Ministry Additional Secretary Dr Palitha Mahipala at a press conference held at the Health Education Bureau yesterday.

The programmes have been carried out under the theme of “Preventing blinding by cataract ”. Under these programmes a free eye checkup clinic for school van drivers in the Western Province has been organized.

Further, 100 free cataract operations are to be performed in the Kandy hospital, while all other eye hospitals islandwide are to perform at least 15 free operations. The Kilinochchi General Hospital has performed 350 operations to mark ‘World Blind Day’, on October 10 and 11.

Dr Mahipala pointed out that around 285 million persons face visual defects due to various reasons around the world and out of that, 39 million end up being permanently blind. Statistics have also shown that one person goes blind every 12 seconds, in the world.

Cataract causes blindness in 82 percent of people over the age of 50. Around 75,000 cataract operations are performed in Sri Lanka annually.

Under the five year project implemented in 2002 by the Vision 2020 Secretariat to prevent all types of preventable blindness by 2020, tremendous progress has been made by eye units islandwide.

Accordingly, eye units have been set up at the Kantale, Balapitiya, Kegalle, Horana and Ridgeway Children’s Hospitals.

The number who had become blind due to refractive errors in the eye is 18,000 while around 160,000 schoolchildren suffer from some sort of eye problem, Dr Mahipala said.

Around 15,000 persons had become blind due to Glaucoma and another 6,000 had become blind due to diabetes. The number of persons who became blind due to old age is around 11,000. Around 400,000 suffer from the condition called low vision.

The majority of the blind are poor and most are females. But when comparing with the past there is a significant improvement in eye care facilities in the country, he added.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/10/12/news27.asp
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Cataract, principal cause of blindness

By Don Asoka Wijewardena

Cataract is the principal cause of blindness. It can be treated and normal vision is soon ensured with a quick, painless and simple operation to implant an artificial lens in the eye.

Cataract operations are performed free of charge in all the eye units of State-run hospitals around the country, Consultant Eye Surgeon of the National Eye Hospital Dr. Ms. Mangala Gamage told a media conference, at the Health Education Bureau Auditorium on Monday, to mark the World Sight Day which falls on October 13, 2011.

Dr. Ms. Gamage said that around 285 million people world-wide were affected with eye ailments. Of that number, 39 million were totally blind. Every 12 seconds, one more person was added to that number. Blindness was avoidable by adopting preventable methods or treating in time once detected. In Sri Lanka, 82 per cent of blind people were elderly and over 50 years of age.

She pointed out that people in rural areas sought native treatment to cure eye diseases. That was not a good practice because the eye was a very sensitive organ and could be further damaged by such treatment.

She said that it was a common practice in villages to wash the eye with water boiled with margosa, tamarind or pomegranate leaves. Some applied breast milk on the eye whenever, a person developed an eye disease.

Consultant Eye Surgeon, President of the College of Ophthalmologists Dr. Ms. Deepani Wewalwala said that cataract, glaucoma, childhood partial blindness, vision complications and diabetes related eye disorders were the main causes of total blindness. Cataract could be claimed to be the main cause of blindness. Cataract was caused by gradual deterioration and discolouration of the eye lens. Then the entry of light into the eye would vanish gradually. Unless timely medical attention was sought, the person might lose sight.

She added that around 75,000 cataract operations were performed in government hospitals per year. All General, Base and District Hospitals had eye clinics for people to get their eyes checked. Most people decided aginst cataract operations because they think that was rather dangerous. The cataract operation was quick, painless, simple and proper restoration of the eye sight could be gained within one day, she said.

http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=36633

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Cataract screening for school van drivers

School van drivers, island wide, would be screened for cataract or other vision impairments under the Vision 2020 programme. The spokesman for the Health Ministry said yesterday that the decision had been taken by the Vision 2020 Secretariat as a majority of school van drivers were above the age of 45 and vulnerable to cataract and other vision impairments.

The programme would be carried out parallel to ‘World Sight, Day,’ tomorrow (13). ‘Let’s prevent cataract,’ has been identified as the theme for the day. Eight hundred school van drivers will be screened and provided with lenses at the National Hospital.

The spokesman said that eye Surgeon of the Seeduwa Wijaya Kumaratunga Hospital, Dr. C. Amaratunga had performed cataract operations on 350 patients at the Kilinochchi Base Hospital yesterday morning. Another hundred cataract patients would be operated on at the Kandy Teaching Hospital today (12). The Vision 2020 progarmme would carry out more cataract operations in hospitals countrywide. He said that fifteen operations would be performed in each of the hospitals.

The programmes are being funded by Standard Charted Bank, World Sight Savers and other NGOs, the spokesman added.

(DJ)

http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=36638