Orile Agege General Hospital (OAGH) has joined other General Hospitals across the State to celebrate World Glaucoma Week with the theme “The World is Bright, Save Your Sight”. The week-long event will take place from Monday, 7th March 2022, to Friday, 11th March 2022.
In his address on the occasion organised to mark the commencement of the celebrations, the Medical Director/CEO of the Hospital, Dr. Sola Pitan, said Glaucoma is the second highest cause of irreversible blindness in the world and a major illness that affects a lot of people, especially in developing countries.
He stated that the occasion calls for reflection on how to render necessary assistance to prevent blindness caused by Glaucoma, stressing that the ultimate goal of the event is to support people, particularly those in Orile Agege and environs who nurse the ailment, with effective treatments.
Dr. Pitan said: “Throughout this week, from Monday through Friday, all the people living in Orile Agege and its environs are free to come in and get their eyes checked for Glaucoma without any cost attached. When anyone of them is diagnosed as having Glaucoma, we work with them to see how the management of that condition can continue over the years”.
“In order to create more awareness for the programme, the Facility had embarked on vigorous media campaign targeted at residents of the Community. We also promoted the programme on social media, visited various communities, met with their leaders, interacted with market men and women, members of the National Union of Road Transport and Workers as well as Clerics in a bid to increase awareness of the programme in Orile Agege and beyond”, the Medical Director said.
Explaining that the programme will also afford residents the opportunity to check their sugar levels and blood pressures, Dr. Pitan informed the participants that patronage of orthodox healthcare services does not in any way negate religious, traditional or cultural beliefs.
Earlier, Dr. Taiwo Oluyemi, Director of Clinical Services and Head of Ophthalmology Department, Orile Agege General Hospital said Glaucoma is a group of diseases affecting the optic nerve of the eye and could potentially lead to irreversible blindness, noting that it is usually caused by a build-up pressure which can eventually damage the optic nerve that connects the eye to the brain.
She said: “The number of individuals with Glaucoma will likely increase because many people are unaware that they have the disease or many may not have access to the much-needed care. Hence, the World Glaucoma Week is a global initiative of the World Glaucoma Association dedicated to raise awareness on Glaucoma and improve quality of life of everyone”.
“The goal of the Glaucoma Week is to enjoin everyone to have a regular eye check with a view to detecting traces of Glaucoma as early as possible. This is necessary because prompt diagnosis and treatment of the disease can prevent needless vision impairment. Glaucoma is a growing public health concern that needs more attention and effective eye care treatment”, the Ophthalmologist stated
Pointing out that the exact cause of Glaucoma is not fully known, Dr. Oluyemi outlined risk factors associated with the disease such as age, family history, short-sightedness, previous injury on the eye, long term use of steroids, diabetes and hypertension.
She stated that most people do not experience any symptoms until the later stage of the disease when they experience pain, redness, halos around vision, bumping into objects and blurring of vision.
Also speaking, Dr. Olufunmilayo Bankole, Head, Eye Clinic, Folarin Coker Staff Clinic, Alausa, said the initiative was to create awareness concerning Glaucoma which is a silent killer of sight, maintaining that Glaucoma may not manifest until the eye is completely blind because there were no symptoms.
“This is why we are advocating that people all over the world should check their eyes at least once in a year. The people that are at risk and need to do this urgently are those of the black race, especially those who are 40 years and above, have previously been diagnosed with diabetes or hypertension and have a family member diagnosed with Glaucoma”, Bankole said.
