The most important week of the year – National Eye Health Week

Perhaps the most important week of the year, National Eye Health Week is about promoting the importance of good eye health and the need for regular eye tests for all.

Taking place between the 20th – 26th of September this year, here at Optelec & Enhanced Vision UK, we are bringing as much attention as we can to the great work of Your Vision Matters.

Regardless of whether you have 20/20 vision or not, National Eye Health week is about ensuring you stay on top of the general health of your eyes, ensuring that you look after your eyes in the best way that you can.

 The first step is prevention

Although some causes of sight loss cannot be prevented, there are many that can – particularly in older people.

We are proud to work with thousands of visually impaired and blind people from across the UK, providing assistive technology that enables vision enhancement, or the carrying out of tasks and activities that would otherwise be impossible.

However, our first step is always to promote and propose prevention, where possible, by providing education, resources, and reminders to attend regular eye tests, and utilise eye protection, such as our fit-over-filters.

The image shows a collection of 8 different coloured fit over glare shields

Did you know?

-          2 million people in the UK are living with sight loss, which is severe enough to have a significant impact on their daily lives. Half of this sight loss is avoidable.

-          A sight test can detect early signs of conditions like glaucoma, which can be treated if found soon enough

-          During a sight test, other health conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure may be detected.

-          For healthy eyes, eat well, don’t smoke, and wear eye protection in bright sunlight.

 With an estimated half of sight loss being avoidable, Your Vision Matters have put together a quick quiz you can undertake to see if you could be looking after your eyes better.

Eye health calculator: https://www.visionmatters.org.uk/looking-after-your-eyes/eye-health-calculator