Milan: May is Vision Month

A city’s state of health is measured by the wellbeing of its citizens. This is the spirit that led to the Council for Health’s project that will offer Milanese the chance to check the state of their physical and psychological wellbeing. To reach the greatest number of citizens possible an equipped motor caravan will travel about the city from the center to the suburbs.

Consultancy is completely free and will change type each month. After April, skin month, May will be vision month. The free eye checkups began May 4: experts on the staff of the Ateneo-Bicocca in Milan will carry out basic tests to assess vision function and, if necessary, they will provide specific consultancy for people who drive or use monitors for professional or personal reasons.

Health councilman Giampaolo Landi di Chiavenna said “We have calculated that we can reach from 30 to 50,000 citizens and users in our city, that means a saving in treatments of about € 500 per family, or about € 3 million in total: it’s an extremely important sign from an economic and social point of view”.

“We expect a large number of people to take part again this month”, added Giampaolo Landi di Chiavenna, who came up with the initiative. “The figures we have show that 9 out of every 10 people who regularly use a computer for work, study or playing games will develop sight defects. In general, the percentage of adults throughout the world who have problems deriving from computer use/abuse has risen to 88%”.