An Optometrist, Dr Chinazom Obaje, has identified regular eye checks and healthy lifestyle as key to effective management and prevention of loss of vision due to glaucoma.

Obaje made this known at the closure of an outreach – Free Eye Care and Distribution of Medicated Glasses, organised by the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital Yaba in conjunction with Gift Health Plus INC., on Tuesday in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the two-day outreach, which started on Monday at the hospital’s premises, provided services including eye tests, screenings and distribution of eye drops and recommended medicated glasses.

Obaje, also a consulting doctor at the event, decried that a lot of people were coming down with eye problems, ranging from glaucoma, cataract and blurry vision.

Obaje, who described glaucoma as a leading cause of irreversible blindness, said that early detection allowed for interventions that could slow or prevent vision loss.

According to him, glaucoma is not curable, but timely diagnosis through regular, comprehensive eye tests and a healthy lifestyle including regular exercise and a healthy diets are essential for preventing or managing it.

“Early detection through regular eye check is key in terms of  management, reducing the progress and prevention of the glaucoma.

“It is advisable for everybody to always go for regular eye checks, so that if there are signs or traces of it in their eyes; it can be detected early and managed with anti-glaucoma medication/eye drop.

“From the test results, the doctors will detect the stage of the glaucoma; whether is at early stage, terminal stage or end stage,” Obaje said.

Obaje, who noted that glaucoma could be hereditary, advised that anyone with family history of glaucoma or high risk factors should be tested every year or two after age 35.

He added that diabetic and hypertensive patients should always ensure that their conditions were constantly under control, as such conditions were risk factors.

He emphasised the need for people to maintain healthy lifestyle and good diets.

According to him, people should be eating more of fruits and vegetables majorly of carrots, because they are things that can nourish the optics nerves, remove fluid radicals and reduce the oxidative stress in the eyes.

“So, Being on good diet is another way to nourish and ensure that the retina and blood vessels are healthy, to reduce stress in the eye.

“For someone who does not have eye problem or any family history of glaucoma, it is advised that once every year to go see an eye doctor to get the eye examined.

“For those that have something like glaucoma, having eye check twice to three times in a year is necessary as well as keeping appointments with the eye doctor.

“For elderly people from 50 years and above, should always go to check the back of their eyes at twice a year because Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) may occur from that age.

“Similarly, those who are on glasses should at least in minimum of two years visit doctor to have the glasses reviewed to know if they are still active or have expired.

“Computer users too, should reduce their screen time to avoid computer-vision syndrome,” Obaje said.

Speaking, the Executive Director of Gift Health Plus INC., Dr Chamberlain Nwanne, said that the organisation’s focus was on the vulnerable population of the society, ensuring they had access to the needed healthcare and life impacting services.

Nwanne said that the outreaches, which were being carried out at least in six weeks intervals in Nigeria, had impacted many lives including prison inmates, rural pregnant women, school children among others vulnerable in the society.

He explained that the medical materials often used for the outreaches were imported from the U.S., where the initiative originated, identifying the cost of the importation and other import duties as major challenges.

Nwanne, therefore, urged the Federal Government to identify with some genuine non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and see how to make their operations easy.

“In the last 10 years from our records, we have touched at least not less than 27,000 to 28,000 patients we have directly impacted.

“Either we give them glasses, or we give them medicines, or give them school supplies, and other life-enhancing things.

“The cost of importing the medical materials we use for the outreaches is a big challenge.

“It may not be totally waiving the import duties, but if the government can reduce some of the charges, it will go a long way to help,” Nwanne said.

A beneficiary, Mrs Anofi Bolanle, urged the government to intensify efforts toward ensuring the vulnerable in the society had  access to the needed healthcare at little or no cost.

Bolanle urged the government to organise an outreach where the masses could do cataract and glaucoma surgeries at little or no cost, saying that many citizens could not afford the hospital bills.

“Many people including myself are losing their vision to cataract and glaucoma because they cannot afford the hospital bills for their surgery.

“The last time I went to the hospital, they said I should pay the sum of N500,000 for my cataract operation.

“Where do I have such huge amount of money,” Bolanle asked?.

Some patients waiting to access free eye screening organised by the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital Yaba in partnership with Gift Health Plus INC., on Tuesday in Lagos