HEALTH NEWS - Readymade readers, or "readers" as they are more commonly known, are the main stream way of correcting normal age related reading problems. Low cost and availability of these products seem to outweigh the potential hazards.

A few years ago six of us (final year optometry students at Bloemfontein) set out to investigate prismatic effect that readers may have on people wearing them, but a study published in the "Optometry and Vision Science, November 2007", found that most spectacle wearers would likely comfortably tolerate <-0,50 prism dioptres vertically and <1,00 prism dioptres Base Out or Base In. These results made it clear that optics was not the major concern, but rather age related pathology that goes undetected.
Our research study investigated the prevalence of age-related ocular conditions in presbyopic (people older than 38 years) participants at the national district hospital in Bloemfontein. Our 104 participants had to undergo the following tests:

• Intra ocular pressures.
• Random blood glucose measurements.
• Blood pressure measurements.
• Retinal photos and ophthalmoscopy.
• Thorough questionnaire.
• A horrifying 46% of the participants had sight threatening pathology in various stages:
• Glaucoma - 14,42%.
• Diabetic retinopathy - 9,62%.
• Hypertensive retinopathy - 8,65%.
• Diabetic maculopathy - 1,92%.
• Macular degeneration - 1,92%.
• Other (cataracts, macular hole etc) - 9,62%.

As we all know, most sight threatening diseases have the highest prevalence in the later stages of life. Most of these conditions can be prevented when detected early by your doctor or optometrist.

This study showed us the importance of visiting you eye care professional or doctor annually to assess your ocular health. An annual check-up should not take you more than 30 minutes and can save your vision for years to come.

For more information on ocular health visit www.wernerfourieoptom.co.za and view the eyes care videos on LASIK, cataracts and more. Or phone 044 873 4888 if you have any questions.