Monday 6 February 2017

Priority eye diseases : Refractive errors and low vision

Refractive errors and low vision



Definition
Refractive errors include myopia (short-sightedness), and hyperopia (long-sightedness) with or without astigmatism (when the eye can sharply image a straight line lying only in one meridian).

For low vision, the following two definitions are in use:
• (WHO) Low vision is visual acuity less than 6/18 and equal to or better than 3/60 in the better eye with best correction.
• (Low Vision Services or Care) a person with low vision is one who has impairment of visual functioning even after treatment and/or standard refractive correction, and has a visual acuity of less than 6/18 to light perception, or a visual field less than 10 degrees from the point of fixation, but who uses, or is potentially able to use, vision for the planning and/or execution of a task for which vision is essential.




Magnitude
Recent studies have confirmed the existence of a large burden of uncorrected refractive errors, although the interventions required are significantly cost effective, and have an important impact on economic development and quality of life. Severe refractive errors have been estimated to account for about 5 million blind people. According to the most recent data available to WHO, there are an estimated 124 million people in the world with low vision. About a fourth of these would benefit from low vision services.

Prevention and treatment
Refractive errors can be rectified with appropriate optical correction while people with low vision may be helped with low vision devices

Source : World Health Organization, South-East Asia Regional Office

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