National Eye Health Week

Today marks the beginning of the annual National Eye Health Week, a fabulous time to really focus on the health of your eyes and make sure that all of your loved ones, including your good self take the necessary precautions to protect your sight and vision. The Deputy Prime Minister along with many eye health charities are helping to promote the necessity for great eye health and for people to commit to vision tests and regular screenings as part of our health regimes.

Everybody values their sight and many fear losing it more than any other sense however many of us still don't take the same care over it as other health issues. A scary thought when over half of all reported sight loss in the United Kingdom is avoidable. Being number specific thats one hundred people every day losing sight when for many it could have been avoidable.  

Everyone is at risk of vision loss, the majority of registered blind persons were born blind. The numbers of partially sighted people  have actually lost their sight having once had normal vision. Today there are up to two million people coping daily with loss of sight.

Within ethnic groups there are varying statistics regarding eye health. Asian people are at higher risk of developing  diabetic eye disease and cataracts compared to the rest of the population, while within afro-caribbean people glaucoma is a high risk.

Check back this week and keep your eyes peeled for news and health tips for your eyes!