Australians are not looking after their eyes; many adults never have eye tests.
AUSTRLIANS have a surprisingly short-sighted approach to looking after their eyes despite survey results that show many fear blindness more than cancer.
Despite 75 per cent of blindness being preventable, millions of people have their eyes tested only if they are having trouble seeing or if their eyes hurt.
About one in 10 adults has never had an eye test, according to research released to coincide with the annual JulEYE campaign organised by the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists Eye Foundation.
The foundation wants people to discuss their family’s eye health history and to go for an eye test in July.
It says a survey of 1200 adults shows many people believe blindness would be the hardest health condition to live with, over cancer, loss of mobility and heart disease.
Someone who understands this fear is Professor Emeritus Ron McCallum, who was blinded by oxygen treatment after being born prematurely in the 1940s.
“We live in such a visual world. We use visual cues to get around, to drive, to look at our grandchildren. People are really terrified of losing their sight.
“It is better to pick deterioration up in the early stages. Don’t take for granted what you have,” says Prof McCallum, an industrial law expert who was the first totally blind person to be appointed to a professorship in Australia or New Zealand.
Eye disease is indiscriminate and can happen at any age, says foundation CEO Jacinta Spurrett.
More than 200,000 Australians have vision loss related to eye disease, and every year a further 10,000 will lose part of their vision or go blind, she says.
Professor Frank Martin, an ophthalmologist and foundation board member, says people need to be more aware of their family’s eye history.
People with a family history, a relevant medical condition like diabetes or who are older than 40 must have an eye check every two years, he says.
LEADING CAUSES OF BLINDNESS IN AUSTRALIA:
* Glaucoma (gradual loss of peripheral vision)
* Macular degeneration (loss of central vision)
* Diabetic retinopathy
* Injury
Source: RANZCO Eye Foundation
