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In today’s modern days of rushing with work, family and social engagements, the focus on our overall wellbeing and health appears to have shifted.
Our ocular wellbeing, in particular is an area that continuously loses importance.
A survey conducted by Harris in 2008 found that 8 out of 10 Americans fears the loss of vision above he loss of any other sense.
However, 82 per cent of these individuals has not has an eye examination.
Unfortunately, statistics such as these spread worldwide. According to Vision Australia, there are 480,300 people in Australia, as of 2013, who are blind or living with low vision. This number is only expected to rise, projected to be up to 564,000 by 2030.
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The most common causes of low vision were uncorrected refractive error (62 per cent) such as myopia (short-sightedness) or hyperopia (long-sightedness).
Consequently a simple eye exam can be the difference between the shooting headaches after a short stint of reading, or the straining squinting while you drive, and comfortable clear vision throughout the day.
The same study found that 37 per cent of low vision and blindness was due to untreated cataract and 10 per cent to age-related macular degeneration.
Cataracts develop due to the natural changes that occur within the lens of the eye.
Although the rate of profession and severity differs amongst individuals, left untreated can significantly impair vision and negative impact day to day activities.
Macular degeneration occurs at the back of the eye, involving the painless loss of central vision required for driving, reading and seeing fine detail.
While these conditions can be treated, early intervention is key to preventing significant and permanent damage.
For many of these ocular diseases, the progression can be so slow that individuals are not aware of any changes until the damage has occurred.
Therefore, routine comprehensive eye examinations are essential.