UNSW Students Keep an Eye on Vision Care
0th December
To mark World Sight Day, students and staff from UNSW's School of Optometry and the International Centre for Eyecare Education checked out other students' eyes on the Kensington campus.
Optometry students' advice to young and healthy people is, "Have an eye examination at least every five years. And, if you aren't young and healthy . . . better make that every two years." They offer this advice because 70 per cent of blindness or vision loss is preventable and the secret to prevention is early intervention. In Australia, 400,000 people have vision loss. Unless Australians become more aware of eye care, this figure will double within 20 years, and the national cost will go far beyond today's $2 billion.
Director of UNSW's CRC for Eye Research and Technology, Professor Brien Holden, said: "Almost half the 62,000 legally blind Australians and 70 per cent of our 280,000 visually impaired are affected by conditions that are treatable or preventable. Can you imagine anyone willingly giving up the ability to see? That's why our message is, 'Don't lose sight of your vision'," he said.
Optometry students' advice to young and healthy people is, "Have an eye examination at least every five years. And, if you aren't young and healthy . . . better make that every two years." They offer this advice because 70 per cent of blindness or vision loss is preventable and the secret to prevention is early intervention. In Australia, 400,000 people have vision loss. Unless Australians become more aware of eye care, this figure will double within 20 years, and the national cost will go far beyond today's $2 billion.
Director of UNSW's CRC for Eye Research and Technology, Professor Brien Holden, said: "Almost half the 62,000 legally blind Australians and 70 per cent of our 280,000 visually impaired are affected by conditions that are treatable or preventable. Can you imagine anyone willingly giving up the ability to see? That's why our message is, 'Don't lose sight of your vision'," he said.
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