ILOILO City – While taking care of the body amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, everyone must continue keeping their eyes just as healthy.
August is Sight Saving Month, and the Department of Health (DOH) is encouraging the public to protect and take good care of the eyes.
“Eye health is also important. We don’t neglect this during this pandemic,” said nurse Cristina De Guzman, program coordinator for essential non-communicable disease of DOH Region 6.
To prevent vision loss, an all-stage approach should be done, she said.
As early as the mother’s pregnancy, she should take care of her health through proper supplementation and regular prenatal checkup, De Guzman said.
“We take care of the mother during pregnancy so that the child would be in good health,” De Guzman told Panay News.
After birth, babies must undergo different immunization programs like against measles. De Guzman said measles can cause blindness.
Moreover, children should also be given vitamins until they reach preschool.
During preschool, elementary and secondary schooling, De Guzman said, children should undergo vision screening.
“The vision accuracy of the child must be checked (preferably) before mag-start ang school,” added De Guzman.
The Department of Education is tasked to do this.
“Kami sa DOH we capacitate our health service providers by training them in primary eye healthcare, our MHOs (municipal health officers), midwifes, clinic teachers on how to do the vision screening,” she said.
If a child has vision problems such astigmatism or error of refraction (EOR), parents are encouraged to seek the help of eye experts.
On the other and, senior citizens are advised to have their eyes checked by their Rural Health Units or any health facility.
In this time of pandemic, however, there may be difficulty accessing health facilities. De Guzman said those seeking medical experts’ attention may opt for “telemedicine”.
citing data from the Philippine Eye Research Institute, De Guzman said cataract is the top visual impairment in the country.
“About 1.11 million (in 2015) are affected in our population and the estimated number of cataracts requiring surgery is about 338,639 individuals,” De Guzman said.
There were also cases of uncorrected EOR and glaucoma.
One way to help keep the eyes healthy is by eating nutritious food like green leafy vegetables.
“Naga-campaign kita sang healthy diet and nutrition. Dapat we eat sang kinahanglanon sang aton lawas,” said De Guzman./PN
