RML doc says 137mn Indians suffer from vision loss

Director of RMLIMS, Dr CM Singh, also said that he is determined to expand the facilities in the ophthalmology department at the institute

Blindness is among the most common public health concerns in the country, said doctors at a seminar on vision impairment, held at Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (RMLIMS) on Wednesday, as part of CME (continuous medical education) sessions organised to observe International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

For representation only (HT FIle Photo)

At the event, Dr Shikha Agarwal from the department informed, “India is home to more than 137 million people who have near vision loss and 79 million who suffer from impairment.” She further said, “Low vision is when a person’s eyesight cannot be corrected with standard refractive correction, and it can develop at any age.”

Chief guest at the event, Director of RMLIMS, Dr CM Singh, also said that he is determined to expand the facilities in the ophthalmology department at the institute, “so that more people can get the benefits of the latest technology,” he said. Speaking of the importance of early detection in his address, he said, “That way preventable blindness can be avoided.”

Doctors present at the event also informed of the different eye defects that affect children and adults. Among adults, the commonest causes of low vision are glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, and among children, the causes are cortical vision impairment, amblyopia, retinopathy of prematurity and inherited retinal disorders.

A day prior, the ENT department had also held a similar seminar on hearing loss at an urban health centre in Lucknow, in association with the Cochlear Implant Group of India. At the event, MBBS students of RML also performed a street play, portraying the plight of hearing impaired persons in society.

Ashish Chandra Agarwal, additional professor and Head of ENT department, emphasised on the different causes of hearing loss and the hardships faced by a hearing-impaired person.