Vision care was thrust into the public limelight during National Eye Health Week (September 21-27) with the release of fresh optical research, opinions and marketing.
The awareness campaign, backed by a number of vision charities, optical bodies and practices, set out to drive awareness about the importance of regular eye exams.
Each day of this week focused on a different topic, including eye health, nutrition, technology and UV protection.
Organisers cited new research linking lifestyle factors to the risk of sight loss – with smoking identified as the biggest modifiable risk.
Those patients with ‘poor lifestyle scores’ and a high genetic predisposition were three times more likely to devlop AMD, according to the study published in Ophthalmology journal. Others with poor exercise patterns and diets were four times more likely to have AMD.
David Cartwright, optometrist and chair of National Eye Health Week, said: ‘Half of all sight loss is avoidable yet forecasters predict the number of people living with sight loss in the UK will double to four million by 2050 and 1 in 6 of Britons will become blind or partially sighted by the age of 65.
‘These figures are shocking when you consider that having a regular sight to identify issues early, including leafy greens and fish in your diet, being more active and quitting smoking could significantly reduce your risk of sight loss, even if you have a genetic risk of eye disease.’
Spokespeople for the profession flooded national media, with The Sunday Times newspaper providing an eight page vision supplement to its readers. An article ‘Seeing the best way forward’ said the follow up to last year’s Call to Action for eye health had been a disappointment and fallen on death ears.
Optician Awards charity Blind Veterans UK also took the opportunity to mark the campaign, launching a campaign urging eye health professionals to ask patients if they served in the military, and if so, refer them to the charity for support.