Envision an existence without sight. Scary and troublesome right? Eyes are such a significant organ of the human body. They help us to see the beauty of this magnificent world. Still, we pay so little attention to our eyes. When we suffer regular headaches or squint while reading or have trouble seeing distant objects, we delay going to an ophthalmologist until the issue takes a serious turn. For what reason is eyecare in India so low on our priority list? For what reason do we disregard such a vital organ? Affected vision isn’t an individual issue because it not only impacts people’s personal life but also diminishes their abilities and productivity.
More than a quarter of the world’s population — 2.2 billion people — experience the ill effects of vision disability out of which, 1 billion cases could have been prevented or have been left unaddressed, as indicated by the first World Vision Report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) on October 8, 2019. These 1 billion people include those with moderate or extreme distance vision impairment or blindness due to unaddressed refractive error (123.7 million), unaddressed presbyopia (826 million), cataract (65.2 million), glaucoma (6.9 million), corneal opacities (4.2 million), diabetic retinopathy (3 million), and trachoma (2 million).
As far as regional contrasts, the prevalence of distance vision impairment in low and middle-income regions is evaluated to be multiple times higher than in high-income regions. With respect to near vision, rates of unaddressed near vision impairment are evaluated to be greater than 80% in western, eastern and central sub-Saharan Africa, while comparative rates in high-income districts of North America, Australasia, Western Europe, and of Asia-Pacific are accounted to be lower than 10%.
Main causes of rising instances of vision impairment
Eye conditions that can cause vision impairment and blindness are cataract, myopia, diabetic retinopathy, trachoma, and refractive error. But eye conditions that don’t ordinarily disable vision, including dry eye and conjunctivitis, must not be neglected as they are among the primary reasons for people to seek eye health care services in all countries.
Late detection is the main cause as due to weak or poorly incorporated eye care services, numerous individuals lack access to routine checks that can detect conditions and lead to the conveyance of suitable preventive care or treatment.
In the course of recent decades, eye care in India has made enormous strides. On the back of strong leadership, innovation, funding, and government support, eye care in India has improved, and more people have gained access. Soon after, the government decided to permit free imports of ophthalmic equipment and other supplies, endlessly improving access to the basic merchandise required for examination and surgery. India also pioneered the cross-subsidization model for eye care, where fees from wealthier patients help cover the costs of treatment for low-income earners. For the cross-subsidization model to work effectively, eye hospitals need to draw in a high volume of patients to surgery. Initially, many were hesitant to go under the blade. But as those who had surgery suddenly found themselves able to see, word spread.
Now India is home to a third of the world’s blind populace. The country has around 12 million individuals with visual impairment against the worldwide aggregate of 39 million, as per a report published by the National Program for Control of Blindness (NPCB). Hospitals in India are attempting to help patients with financing and to improve counseling to encourage more to take the option of correcting their refractive errors before it’s too late.
Rushabh Eye Hospital’s Contribution to Eyecare in India:
Rushabh Eye Hospital has grown bigger and better to become a full-fledged Super-speciality Eye Hospital in Mumbai over the last three decades. We provide affordable, comprehensive, and quality eye care services to everyone. With the introduction of the FDA approved Visx Star S4 Excimer Laser, we became one of the first Centers in Mumbai performing Laser Vision Correction for the treatment of high refractive errors.
We offer state of the art diagnostic and therapeutic equipment along with highly qualified Specialist Ophthalmologists who are dedicated to patient care.
A professional approach, complete pre-operative evaluation, coupled with ethical practice and meticulous surgery has been the foundation of success at Rushabh Eye Hospital & Laser Centre.