An Abuja based Optometrist at Touchstone Eye International, Dr Ohuonu Enyinnaya Ogidi has revealed that the eyes is the most sensitive sensory organ to man. He noted that humans are fairly unique in their reliance on sight as the dominant sense and this is reflected in how complicated our eyes are relative to other creatures.
Dr Ogidi said, it is very important to see an eye doctor while you can see the doctor adding that it is unfortunate that many people don’t consider checking their eyes until about 60% of their vision is already gone. “It is important to go and see the doctor when you can still recognize his face and interact with the doctor for him to know the necessary action to take at the early stage your eye has problem.”
According to WHO, every individual is to do regular thorough eye examination once in a year in other to detect any abnormally at the early. Dr Ogidi said dilated eye examination may be considered by the examiner to enable him/her have full assessment of the internal structures of the eyes.
While given some steps for proper eye care and management he said, knowing one family eye health history and general health history is very important in maintaining good vision. He added also that self-evaluation on the eye is a necessity for good vision explaining that ordinarily, an individual should be the first examiner of his eye because there are simple sign and symptoms that serves as an indication that there is a problem.
“For instance, when you start to feel pain in your eyes you don’t have to be a doctor before you know something is wrong with your eye. When you finish bathing and you look at the mirror and see your eyes are red, you don’t have to be a doctor before you know you have red eyes. Other symptoms like; heaviness in the eyes, occasional blurring of vision; it could be at far or near, difficulty reading tiny prints, are all indications to visit the eye doctor who will conduct a comprehensive examination for a clear picture of what all the signs and symptoms in your eyes stands for.”
The eye doctor also recommended the use of sun glasses with anti glare especially when the sun is very high. He said this will help protect the eye from what is ultra-violet radiation.
According to Dr Ogidi, eating right is a vital way in maintaining good vision, “We are just what we eat. You must know that some of the things we eat go a long way to affect our vision. For instance, when you eat food that is too much rich in carbohydrate it tend to increase the blood sugar content, when the sugar level in the blood is high it causes hyperglycemia and when not properly managed diabetics sets in. On the other hand the eyes becomes myopic with blurring of vision at far.”
He advised consumption of foods that gives healthy vision such as, fruits and vegetables rich in Vitamins and minerals, anti-oxidant and so on adding that these food components are found in carrots, green beans, green garden eggs, cucumbers, fresh fish, walnuts, sea food and others.
Dr Ogidi further said for good vision smoking of any kind which poses threat to the eye and general health status must be avoided while also adding that maintaining a healthy weight is a must. “It’s been discovered that excessive weight, like in a case of obesity has a way of affecting the eyes.”
“For those that work in construction companies or deal in chemicals or reactive agents, it is good to wear “protective eye wear”. Give your eye some rest with what we call 20-20 rule. For instance, Civil Servants who work with computers or read with computers, it is good to know that when you work at length your eyes are under pressure. Therefore, intermittently your eyes needs some relaxation of about 20 seconds this will help you to have some ease and also have some moments of blinking.”
Dr Ogidi advised parents to observe their children in other to know when their sight is becoming a concern. “For children, watching TV from a reasonable distance does not have any significant effect on the eye but when children are directly in front of the TV, it shows that their vision needs help as most times they are short sighted.”
