Awareness about eye diseases, says experts
PUNE: The population of blinds in India is estimated to rise to 15 million by next year.
Eye or Retinal diseases are the leading cause of preventable blindness.
Lack of awareness about eye or retinal diseases i.e. symptoms, ignorance and not seeking timely diagnosis and treatment, has led to a significant rise in patients suffering from vision loss, say experts.
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Main eye or retinal disease
Some of the most prevalent eye or retinal diseases are – age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
With the rise in the ageing population in India, it is expected that by year 2030, there will be 1.54 million AMD patients and 5.1 million DME patients in the country.
Raja Narayanan, secretary of Vitreo-Retina Society of India (VRSI), said “Symptoms of retinal diseases like AMD are often misunderstood as signs of ageing and therefore ignored.
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Compromised vision can push AMD patients into a cycle of events that impact their overall quality of life.
They may accidentally fall, unable to perform their routine activities without assistance from caregivers and as a result could suffer from depression.”
While eye diseases like cataract and glaucoma are commonly known, awareness about diseases related to the retina (back of the eye) is very low.
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A dedicated retina day (November 29) in India aims to bring together stakeholders from the healthcare industry.
Policymakers to raise public awareness about retinal diseases and work towards addressing the growing challenge of preventable blindness.
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