Thursday 12 October is World Sight Day 2023 and gives us an opportunity to reflect on what good vision means. Across the world, over 1 billion people have a vision impairment that is untreated or could have been prevented1. OPSM optometrist, Kirby Phillips, believes that the key to maintaining good sight is regular eye tests.
“Many eye conditions can start slowly or without any symptoms,” Phillips says. “This means that the best way to prevent vision loss is to see an optometrist at least every 2 years to make sure your vision and eye health are of a good standard.”
For this year’s World Sight Day, the focus is on the importance of eye care in the workplace. “Good sight goes hand-in-hand with our ability to work,” Phillips advises. “When you consider roles that involve using a computer, performing manual labour safely, or driving for work, the ability to complete these tasks is very dependent on the maintenance of good vision.”
Many eye diseases, including glaucoma and macular degeneration, can begin without symptoms or changes to vision, so regular eye checks are key to ensure these if these conditions develop, they can be managed early to reduce the likelihood of vision loss.
Not only can regular eye tests monitor for eye diseases that can cause vision deterioration, but they can provide vision solutions that improve your functionality at work, such as safety glasses to prevent eye injury, sunglasses for outdoor jobs, or computer glasses to prevent eye fatigue.
Symptoms of eye fatigue are common, and can include headaches, blurred vision, red eyes, and heavy eyelids. Eye fatigue is more frequent in work environments that involve concentrated close work, such as tasks involving computers or fine, detailed work.
“Your optometrist can discuss your visual requirements and tailor a vision solution to your needs,” Phillips says. “It’s never a one-size-fits-all approach as our occupations these days are so varied.”
Make sure you check in with your optometrist based on your eye health needs this World Sight Day!
Sources
1Wiedemann, P. (2022). Love your eyes--world sight day 2022. International Journal of Ophthalmology, 15(10), 1567–1568. https://doi.org/10.18240/ijo.2022.10.01