Dr Ogidi Ohuonu, a Resident Optometrist, has advised Nigerians to give attention to their eye care to ensure improved vision.
Ohuonu gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at a free eye screening for members of staff of NAN on Friday in Abuja.
The optometrist, who condemned the poor attitude of the populace to their eye health, emphasised that a lot of people often time give attention to issues patterning to their general health than the eyes.
Ohuonu, the Managing Director, Touchstone Eye International, who identified vision as priceless, emphasised that we must do everything possible to protect the eyes, being a sensitive organ of the body.
“We should endeavour to check our eyes regularly irrespective of our busy schedule to maintain good vision because without the eyes, one would not be able to do anything.
“People seem to be a beat reluctant to give adequate attention to eye care but when it comes to other general health cases, they easily rush to a doctor to seek medical attention.
“It is high time we enhance our level of awareness on why people should take their health very serious because when anything goes wrong with the eye, the vision can no longer be reversed.
“When such incidence happen, that individual becomes incapacitated because without vision there is virtually nothing you can do,” he said.
Ohuonu noted that the visual screening was aimed at ensuring that workers in government Ministries, Agencies and Parastatals have proper eye examination at their door step.
“This gesture is geared toward achieving `Vision 2020’ which is right to sight,” he said.
He explained that many people with visual challenge were aware of the condition but due to time constraints owing to the nature of their job, could not access eye clinic for proper care.
The optometrist listed eye challenges detected among the staff to include some degree of refractive errors, myopia and hyperopic.
According to him, large number of persons are diagnosed of presbyopia while some have pathology cases like conjunctivitis, bacteria, among others.