What are the challenges of World Sight Day?

Myopia, glaucoma, AMD, presbyopia… Are you lost among all these complicated scientific terms? Don’t worry, for World Sight Day, we’re going to help you see things more clearly and understand the purpose of this day!

1- What are the goals of World Sight Day?

Every year, many people are affected by eye diseases, often neglected by some or left untreated due to a lack of financial resources for others.

To sum it up, we can say that World Sight Day “pays tribute” to all people suffering from a vision disorder. But what exactly is a vision disorder? We hear so many terms related to optics that we no longer really know what each one means.

I can already hear you asking: what exactly is a vision disorder? No problem, I’ll help you understand everything!

What is a vision disorder?

First of all, it is important not to confuse visual defects with eye diseases.

Visual defects

We talk about a visual defect when the eye has a deformation that prevents it from seeing clearly. You know, those famous complicated words your eye doctor mentions at the end of your appointment: myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and presbyopia.

Eye diseases

Eye diseases, on the other hand, are conditions that can take different forms and affect several parts of the eye. Today, there are more than 40! The vision of affected people can then be altered by different symptoms:

- Double vision

- Difficulty distinguishing colors

- The appearance of dark spots in their field of vision

- Distortion of straight lines

We don’t want to worry you, but if you experience one or more of the symptoms described above, don’t hesitate to consult your eye doctor quickly.

Now that you’ve become an expert on the different vision disorders, we can get back to the main topic!

2- The challenges of World Sight Day

Did you know that worldwide, 2 billion people have a vision impairment? And among these 2 billion people, 1 billion do not have access to the necessary care… It’s incredible, isn’t it?

Every year, the WHO works to reduce the number of people around the world who do not have access to eye care. The goal is therefore to integrate prevention, screening, treatment, and rehabilitation for everyone, everywhere into every government’s healthcare priorities.

We know that 90% of people with visual impairment live in poverty, often without access to education, employment, or especially medical care.

We can mention sub-Saharan Africa, where 4.5 million people are blind. Unfortunately, this blindness could have been prevented if the vision disorder had been detected and treated in time!

3- Actions to take for the occasion

Have your eyesight checked regularly

As you now understand, it is very important to have your eyesight checked regularly in order to treat vision problems as early as possible. Indeed, vision disorders can worsen and lead to visual impairment!

Visual impairment is divided into two categories:

- Low vision: A person is considered visually impaired when their visual acuity does not exceed 3/10.

- Blindness: A person affected by blindness has visual acuity that does not exceed 1/10.

To avoid this, make sure to have your eyesight checked every 5 years if you are under 45, and every 2 years if you are over 45! And above all, remember to take care of your eyes and get rid of bad habits that can cause eye strain.

Take part in free eye screenings

If you are in Paris, you can do this from October 13th by attending the free, walk-in screening offered by the blindness prevention association from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Unfortunately, this type of screening is not yet available in every French city.

Support research

If you want to do more for the cause, stay here, we have plenty of ideas for you! You can start by making a donation to ophthalmology research through different organizations such as Fondation de France or the Vision Institute.

Take part in a contest to support the cause

If you enjoy fun challenges, you can participate in the photo contest and let your creativity speak by sharing what #loveyoureyes means to you.