Dr Alphaeus Asamoah Amoasi, an Optometrist with the Entrance University Hospital, has cautioned the public to desist from touching the eye without caution or neat hands to prevent eye infections and problems.
He said people were so used to touching their eye anytime and with unclean hands without caring about what was on their hands after holding items and touching surfaces.
Such misconduct, he said could give their eyes serious infection which could cause conditions like conjunctivitis (pink eye), styes, and even more serious issues like corneal ulcers.
Dr Amoasi also advised that everyone wore sunglasses or UV-protected glasses when walking in the sun to prevent conditions like cataracts, pterygium, macula degeneration and eyelid cancers.
“And also practise some take breaks when you are using your computer or phone. You blink often to help the tears spread on your eye and make your eyes comfortable,” he added.
Dr Amoasi gave the advice in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at a free eye screening exercise conducted by the hospital, a subsidiary of the Tobinco Group of Companies for the public in Accra.
Dr Amoasi said the screening exercise recorded many cases of refractive error – near-sightedness, far-sightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia, eye infections and cataracts.
“We are giving medications to some of them. We are also booking and referring those who require cataract surgery and advising them also on their lifestyle. For those with infections, we can see that most of them got it from their lifestyle and we needed to caution them,” he said.
The Optometrist also admonished everyone to have regular eye examination every year, adding: “People do not regularly walk in for check-up. You can see that people walk in when they have problems. But I encourage everyone to at least have an eye check.
“I met a 43-year old gentleman who visited the facility few months ago and had never had an eye check.
“And I realized that he had an advanced glaucoma and significant loss of vision. And this vision is irreversible. It means that this patient might not be able to work because he’s lost his vision, and might not be able to take care of his children and wife,” he noted.
Dr Amoasi explained that one was at a high risk if he or she had never had an eye check, saying there could be a vision-threatening condition hidden that could cause a loss of sight and productivity subsequently.
He asked that people held matters of their sight with all seriousness.