Milan: free eye exams on the White Tram
Working together today in strong synergy and driven by the same aim are CDV, Vision+ Onlus and CBM Italia Onlus with the support of the Associazione Italiana Medici Oculisti (AIMO).
From 11am to 8pm today and tomorrow, a special White ATM Tram with a fixed itinerary through the streets of downtown Milan will make three stops during which it will be possible to have free eye exams.
«In the light of raising awareness about eye health, not only of the institutions but also, and above all, of end-consumers, CDV has supported this important initiative promoted with Vision+ Onlus and CBM Italia Onlus for sight month in October, the protagonist of which will be the city of Milan», explained Vittorio Tabacchi during the conference “Eyesight Care and Safe Driving” held this morning at Milan’s Palazzo dei Giureconsulti.
«The exams carried out by our volunteer opticians using equipment that has been supplied free of charge for the two days by Frastema (a company specializing in the sale and distribution of ophthalmic instruments and equipment), will be: refraction test, using an auto refractometer for assessing any refractive problems (myopia, astigmatism, hypermetropia); eye pressure measurement, using an air-puff tonometer to highlight any ocular hypertonia, now considered to be the major risk factor in the development of glaucoma, and eye exams for driving, with tests of vision acuity, contrast sensitivity and perception at twilight», explained Prof. Demetrio Spinelli, optometrist and president of Vision+ Onlus.
The tests take a few minutes and are not a substitute for a complete eye exam, but aim to be an important opportunity for raising awareness and carrying out a first screening of the population. At the end, the “patients/visitors” will be given a leaflet with the most important results of the exam and general indications about any need for additional checks. Volunteers will also distribute eye health information material to passersby. Another aspect that will be measured on the White Tram is the ability to see well, something that all too frequently is not adequately checked and should be carried out also as a guarantee of safe driving.
Everyone has the right to be informed and have access to new technologies, diagnostic tests and, above all, new treatments. «In recent years, ophthalmology has accustomed us to unexpected and rapid discoveries when it seemed that new ideas had been exhausted in the field of surgical and pharmacological treatments or in diagnostics» Demetrio Spinelli added. «Over the coming decades, developments in ophthalmology will come from nanotechnologies, the vast world that includes biotechnologies, physicochemical technologies and solid state microtechnologies. In the ophthalmological field, the applications of the future will be in genetic medicine, which will allow the increasingly early diagnosis of eye diseases and treatments that directly target chromosome defects, as well as in the field of cornea and retina stem cells. Despite this, however, 285 million people have impaired vision and 65% of them are over 50 years of age. Of these, 39 million are completely blind (82% over 50 years) and 246 million have chronic impairment (63% over 50 years). This is why it is necessary to constantly raise the awareness of the public and the health authorities about blindness prevention and the early diagnosis of eye diseases.»
Prevention – the best cure – includes continual checks, not just during October (“sight month”), but always. It is to be hoped that all these actions will be a good starting off point for getting adults and children into the habit of having regular tests because the health of our eyes must be protected.
The White Tram’s scheduled stops are: from 12noon to 3pm in Via Cappellari; from 4pm to 5pm in Piazza Castello/Beltrami; from 5.30pm to 7pm again in Via Cappellari.
