Saudi Gazette Mark your calendar on Oct. 13 as World Sight Day which is celebrated every year on the second Thursday of October as a part of the World Health Organization's global initiative ‘Vision 2020', which aims to eliminate avoidable blindness, increase public awareness, and ensure better vision for all. Saudi Arabia is an active member country of this global campaign. The National Prevention of Blindness Committee and Ebsar Foundation are collaborating to sharply reduce the incidence of blindness in the Kingdom. Ebsar Foundation has drawn agreements with several hospitals such as Al-Magrabi Eye Clinic, Saudi German Hospital, Abdul Latif Jameel, and a well-known optical shop to treat visually impaired patients from low income families. The hospital of choice will cover 50 percent of the medical expenses, such as medical examination of eyes, surgical procedures, prescribed medications, and eye correction glasses, while the remaining 50 percent costs will be covered by Ebsar Foundation. In the past 6 months, 107 people were deemed eligible for this financial aid program and they received necessary treatments and services to improve their quality of life. The group included 30 children with visual problems. Many patients reported social problems caused by their visual impairment. Some had difficulty walking, caring for young children in the home, while others could not help their children with school work, and could not properly perform basic daily functions. 15 percent of the adult men in the group lost their jobs and among the students, 6 percent of them dropped out of school. After successful surgeries, regular follow ups, use of visual aids, and rehabilitative services, 95 percent of these patients had at least partial vision restored. Saudi Gazette spoke to one family who benefited from Ebsar Foundation's program. “My husband had almost lost his vision in both eyes due to glaucoma. He could not work, or even get around in the house without assistance. After undergoing surgery at Al-Magrabi Hospital, with the help of Ebsar Foundation, he can now see using one eye. For us, that was a big improvement because at least he can now go to the kitchen and bathroom unattended. Ebsar Foundation even helps me pay the rent and sends us food items. I pray for the people of Ebsar every single day,” said Umm Fatimah. Most of us are under the misconception that blindness just occurs suddenly and that there is not much we can do about it. On the contrary, 80% of blindness is avoidable; either readily treatable or preventable. 500,000 children become blind each year, nearly one per minute. Dr. Mohammed Naqeeb, ophthalmologist and assistant professor at Um Al-Qura University told Saudi Gazette that glaucoma, which is characterized by damage to the optic nerve and leads to loss of vision, can be prevented. “Since the majority of glaucoma cases are hereditary we can prevent this disease from occurring in the first place by decreasing marriages to close blood relatives. The second step of prevention is early screening. If there is a family history of glaucoma in one or both parents, each child needs to be screened immediately after birth. If glaucoma is detected early and treated, you can save the child's vision for life. And if it is left untreated, it could cause irreversible blindness,” he said. Cataract is a clouding of the lens of the eye which obstructs the passage of light is the single most important cause of blindness. The good news is that cataract surgery and insertion of an intraocular lens are highly effective and can result in almost immediate visual rehabilitation. In adults, the risk factors for cataract are aging, injury, diabetes, ultraviolet radiation, and smoking. Dr. Mohammad Naqeeb added, “Some children are born with cataract. If it is detected early enough, as early as the first few weeks of life, cataract surgery is fairly easy and it can protect the baby's eyesight. Again, if left untreated, it could lead to blindness. Also, premature infants are more prone to disorders of the eye and they should undergo careful and regular screening.” Macular Degeneration occurs mainly in people over the age of 50, which leads to severe visual loss. The main risk factors are age, race, smoking, a family history of the condition, hypertension, high cholesterol, high fat intake and high body mass index. Wearing sunglasses can play a vital role in protecting against and delaying the onset of macular degeneration. __
