October is Eyesight Month
Eyesight quality undeniably affects the quality of life and our day-to-day occupations but, unfortunately, a hectic pace means that we neglect checking the efficiency of our sight at least once a year.
“Ottobre Mese della Vista” is an initiative promoted by Federottica and by the Roll of Optometrists which aims at giving everyone the chance to have a free eye exam thanks to over 5,000 participating optometrists who make their professionalism available to the public at large.
The figures are alarming: one Italian in five has never had an eye exam, more than 60% have not had an exam for more than three years, and one person in four has an uncorrected sight defect. But that’s not all: 40% of students have a sight defect and do not wear glasses, 75% of video terminal operators suffer from eye discomfort such as strain, blurred vision, headaches and, more generally, 25% of people who use computers also have muscle and back problems.
Moreover, it is very important to emphasize that eyesight efficiency and the state of our eyeglasses are inseparably linked; efficient eyesight is also dependent on checking eyeglasses, which are specifically made for and worn by one person. They must be regularly checked to ensure that they have not been damaged over time and, as a result, represent a risk for the wearer.
Other alarming figures demonstrate the critical side of eyesight. The posture of 95% of children in Italy is incorrect when reading, writing, in front of a television set or computer. Three out of four who use computers suffer from eye discomfort.
Unfortunately, only 25% of children wear eyeglasses, a figure that should be more than double given that about 66% need refractive compensation. The consequences are immediate: more than half the number of primary school children have an inefficient ocular motor system with indirect, but obvious, effects on learning. These are the final data from a research carried out recently by the Roll of Optometrists and by Federottica with the University of Salento on a sample of about one thousand primary school children.
“Prevention and safety procedures by optometrists are therefore fundamental for reducing eyesight defects and a series of consequences of poor vision, such as incorrect posture and slow learning in children, road accidents, problems linked to posture and strain in adults, falling, difficulty in walking and imbalance in the elderly” – explained Rossella Fonte, president of the Roll of Optometrists.
