Your eyesight is at risk - get it checked!
19/09/2007
Six million older people in the UK are needlessly risking their sight by not having regular eye tests, according to a report called “Older People and Eye Tests”, published for Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).
The RNIB is urging all over-60s to have comprehensive eye tests each year and is calling on the Government to invest in a large-scale eye health awareness campaign targeting older people.
A comprehensive eye test can detect conditions such as glaucoma, wet AMD (age-related macular degeneration) and diabetic retinopathy early enough to get treatment before any permanent damage is done. But if left untreated, these conditions can lead to blindness.
RNIB Campaigns Manager and report author, Barbara McLaughlan, said: “Our message to people over 60 is simple: Don’t wait until you notice changes in your vision to visit your optician - get your eyes tested every year. An eye test will detect the early stages of a serious condition and could save your sight. Age is the highest risk factor in developing some of the most common eye conditions that can lead to blindness. By the time we’re 60, one in 12 of us will have developed a sight problem, by the time we are 75 it is as many as one in six."
78-year-old Ron Smith from Nottingham went for an eye test to check if he needed stronger reading glasses - and was surprised when his optometrist told him he had raised pressure in his right eye. His daughter Gail said: “Dad insisted there was nothing wrong with his sight and was reluctant to go to the eye specialist his optometrist had referred him to.
"Thankfully I persuaded him to go, because when he did he was diagnosed with the early stages of glaucoma. He now uses special drops once a day, which stop the progress of his condition, and his sight is just as good as it’s always been. That visit to the optician picked up a condition that my father didn’t know he had. If it had been left undetected it could’ve meant he’d go blind. .”
Barbara McLaughlan continued: “Our research shows that over 70 percent of people understand the main purpose of an eye test is to check the general health of the eye or detect eye disease early. However, this didn’t necessarily translate into people getting regular eye tests. Those people we asked who hadn’t had an eye test in the last two years still cited ‘not having had any problems with my eyes’ as the main reason for not having an eye test4.
“It’s too dangerous to leave an eye test until you notice something’s wrong. Early-stage glaucoma, for example, has no symptoms and up to 40 per cent of sight can be lost before you realise anything is wrong.”
Even small deteriorations in older people’s sight can put their health and wellbeing at risk. Sight loss increases the likelihood of trips and falls which can lead to broken bones, hip fractures and hospitalisation. Poor sight can also mean someone misreads the tiny writing on their medicine bottles and takes an incorrect dose of their medication. Shockingly, over half of people over 75 who are living with sight loss that affects their ability to do everyday things, simply need new glasses or a routine cataract operation to restore their full sight5.
RNIB’s report gives three main reasons why older people aren’t getting their eyes tested as frequently as they should: they don’t think there is anything wrong with their eyes; they think that the cost of glasses is too high; and for those over the age of 80, they can’t get to an eye test easily.
Barbara McLaughlan said: “Many people don’t know that the cost of glasses or getting to an eye test needn’t be a barrier to having an eye test. If you’re on a low income or on benefits you could be entitled to an NHS voucher to help towards the cost of glasses. And anyone who has difficulty getting out to have an eye test, can have an optician visit them at home. All you need to do is contact your local optician who can either provide this service or refer you to another optician who does.”
For more information please call RNIB’s Helpline on 0845 766 9999 or visit the website below.