Timely treatment to prevent eye diseases stressed

LAHORE: Almost about two million people have eye-related diseases in Pakistan while more than 75 percent of them could be cured with timely intervention.

The parents to ensure timely eye checkups of their children, if a child complains of headaches and watery eyes, there is a high likelihood that he suffers from poor eyesight. These views were expressed by Post Graduate Medical Institute & Ameer Uddin Medical College Principal Prof Al-Fareed Zafar on the occasion of World Sight Day in an event held at Lahore General Hospital on the prevention and treatment of eye diseases under the auspices of Ophthalmology Department of the hospital.

Prof Tayyaba Gul Malik, Prof Dr Jodat Saleem, Prof Dr Muhammad Shahid, Prof Dr Faheem Afzal, Dr Ayesha, Dr Rabia, Dr Urooj Amjad, Dr Adeel, Dr Sana Jahangir, Dr Amna Jibran, Kaniz Fatime, Zahra Ambreen and others participated.

Dr Arooj Amjad while speaking at the event said that thousands of children suffering from ROP and Retinoblastoma were screened and hundreds of children were successfully treated by eye specialist doctors of LGH while others are undergoing treatment.

Head of the Department of Ophthalmology Prof Dr Tayyaba Gul said that modern medical equipment was installed in the three eye units of the LGH and highly qualified doctors are performing complex eye operations from children to adults which is encouraging.

Principal PGMI Prof. Al-Fareed highlighted that though the advancement of technology, scientific developments and new inventions have created comforts and conveniences for patients but this aspect has also created many challenges and health hazards for human beings.

Prof Al-Fareed said diabetes and blood pressure are directly affecting the health of the eyes to a dangerous extent, due to which eye diseases, white and black cataracts and blindness are occurring rapidly around the world, especially in Pakistan.

Medical experts, while highlighting visual diseases, said that diabetes can affect vision because the effect of diabetes on the eye membrane is gradual and the number of lenses increases. They said that 66pc patients are of white cataract and 12pc people suffer from visual impairment which is matter of great concern.

Medical experts further said that digital items such as computers, mobiles, televisions and other things cause eye diseases and have a negative effect on mental performance as well. They stressed that it is important that massage of eyes be done and they should wash hands with soap, avoid using digital devices as much as possible.