Do you know how Glaucoma causes blindness in people in Pakistan?
Islamabad: To prevent eyes from different diseases, one has to make a check on diabetes and blood pressure due to which many complications of eyes including Glaucoma occurred, which is the major cause of blindness, said Ameer Uddin Medical College Principal Dr Sardar Al-fareed Zafar.
He shared his views while talking to media persons, on the occasion of glaucoma week, in Lahore on Wednesday.
Dr Zafar said that the medical field has developed so much as eye surgeries are being performed on modern techniques, including cataracts. He termed the treatment of eye-cancer of children in the Lahore General Hospital (LGH) another success story in the medical history of Pakistan.
It is the only government treatment center in the country where this facility is available, he informed.
To prevent eyes from different diseases, one has to make a check on diabetes and blood pressure due to which many complications of eyes including Glaucoma occurred, which is the major cause of blindness: Dr Sardar Al-fareed Zafar.
Dr Al-fareed Zafar further said that timely diagnosis of other eye diseases, including advanced glaucoma surgery, is very important and for its treatment, highly professional doctors and modern facilities are available in the Ophthalmology Department while a large number of patients are treated in the outdoor department of LGH.
Meanwhile, Dr Muhammad Moin and other Eye Specialists said that 7.5 million people worldwide suffer from visual impairments while the number in Pakistan is around 1.5 million. They said if steps are not taken for timely treatment and diagnosis, by 2040 this number will reach 10 million.
They stressed the need for a vigorous awareness campaign regarding eye care among the masses to protect their eyes from the diseases.
The health experts observed that the diabetic and blood pressure patients are the easy target of black cataracts.
They further said that the size of eyes of growing children can also indicate the abnormality in the eyes therefore it is necessary that regular checkup from an eye specialist is essential. “Although the advancement of medical science all kinds of treatment/surgery of eye-diseases is now a day’s very common, however if the black cataracts would not be diagnosed at an early stage it would become almost impossible to go through a successful eyes surgery to restore eye sight of the patients.
Around 7.5 million people worldwide suffer from visual impairments while the number in Pakistan is around 1.5 million. Eyes Specialists
Dr Hussain Ahmad Khaqan and Prof Samin Jahangir termed cataracts as the enemy of eyesight and said that the nerves that transmit information to the brain through blindness stop working and one cannot perform its daily life.
A person who is deprived of the light of the eyes is away from the beauty and the universe as well as becomes financially incapable which is not only an economic responsibility on his own family but he also becomes dependent on his family, PGMI Prof Al-fareed Zafar added.
If steps are not taken for timely treatment and diagnosis this number will reach 10 million by 2040. Eyes experts
He further said that such patients in the country and the nation are not able to participate in development and commercial activities, so we should pay as much attention to the eyes as we pay attention to our heart disease and diabetes, the senior doctor maintained.
In this regard, it is important that society and individuals raise awareness and launch full-fledged campaigns so that if a person starts having eye problems, instead of ignoring them he should consult a qualified doctor from the beginning so that the problem can be rectified immediately so that the eyes can avoid major disease and perform normally.
