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A new survey from the Canadian Ophthalmological Society and the Canadian Association of Optometrists says many Canadians especially younger people are under-informed about diseases that lead to blindness.

This news has eye doctors reminding people to get their vision checked. They say individuals could be living with a preventable or treatable disease and not even know it.

"We detect any early eye disease or even general health issues. Its important because most eye diseases, such as glaucoma, diabetes, macular degeneration the earlier theyre diagnosed, the better the outcome is," Dr. Janelle Morin, a Timmins-area optometrist, told CTV News.

Morin said she has seen patients who would have benefitted from coming in sooner.

"There isnt a lot of attention to the fact that eye examinations are important and that eye health can deteriorate, without people being aware that thats the case," Dr. Phil Hooper, of the Canadian Ophthalmological Society, said.

The survey showed that while just over sixty per cent of respondents were aware of cataracts, only a quarter knew that they are the leading cause of blindness in the country.

Over a third of those who had not had their eyes checked in over two years, said it was because they did not see a problem with their vision.

Experts in eye health said it is important to look for warning signs and getting an eye exam every year for children and every two years for adults is a good habit to keep up.

"Any flashing lights, a lot of floaters, things like that. Those are big ones for retinal detachment, that can lead to permanent vision loss Diabetic retinopathy, most of the time, doesnt have any symptoms, until it is too late. Same thing with macular degeneration," Morin said

Though Hooper said there are barriers, like the cost of eye exams and the availability of treatments and surgeries that need resolving.

"To make sure these people dont delay their care until the outcome isnt as good as it otherwise could be," Hooper added.

Experts said that parents in Ontario should make eye exams a yearly habit for their children since theyre covered by OHIP.

And for adults that have not had an exam in a while, they said its better to get one now than regret it later.

See original here:
Canadians unaware of diseases that lead to blindness, survey says - CTV News Northern Ontario

This entry was posted on October 15, 2022 at 1:44 am and is filed under Blindness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |