Prioritise your eye health and prevent avoidable blindness!

It’s Eye Care Awareness Month (20 September to 17 October). This is a month which is commemorated each year to encourage conversations about the importance of eye care, as well as the prevention and treatment of avoidable blindness.

Did you know that 75% of all cases of blindness are avoidable through either prevention or treatment? This is an alarming statistic and it highlights why having our eyes regularly tested is so important. The focus is on various ocular conditions during this month, particularly those that can cause preventable blindness such as cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Apart from having regular eye exams, it is important to be aware of some of the common symptoms of these and other serious ocular conditions. Symptoms may include vision loss, eye pain, visual field loss, altered eye movements, and bulging eyes.

To raise awareness about eye health and to thank the local community for their support, The Eye Centre’s doctors participate in the annual Eye Care Awareness project, an initiative of OSSA’s Right to Sight. Six deserving patients who have been on the cataract surgery waiting list at Helderberg Hospital for an extended period, receive pro bono cataract surgeries. The cataracts are performed at Somerset Surgery, supported by the local anaesthetic group, Blaine and Associates. Consumables used during cataract surgeries are donated by pharmaceutical companies involved in eye care.

For more information on our community service, visit the link here. To book an appointment with one of The Eye Centre’s specialists, please feel free to contact us via telephone at 021 852 6475 or email us at info@theeyecentre.co.za.

Best Wishes,
The Eye Centre