World Sight Day (WSD) is an international day of awareness, held annually on the second Thursday of October to focus attention on the global issue of eye health. This year World Sight Day falls on 14 October 2021 with the theme Love Your Eyes. The Call to Action is EVERYONE COUNTS.

It’s time to LOVE YOUR EYES.

Nearly everyone on the planet will experience an eye health issue in their lifetime and more than a billion people worldwide do not have access to eye care services. This World Sight Day, we are calling on everyone who is able to book a sight test, an eye exam, or a vision screening to check on their well-being of their eyes.

During the pandemic, our eyes are working hard as most of us have spent more time indoors than ever before. A lot of our indoor time has revolved around screens, whether that’s our TVs, phones, tablets, or computers. However, it’s not just our leisure activities that are increasing our screen time, working from home causes an impact as well. Prolonged use of digital gadgets may give rise to computer vision syndrome or digital eye strain that can cause vision-related problems such as short-sightedness.

Short-sightedness, or myopia is a common eye condition in which you can see objects near to you clearly, but objects farther away are blurry. Researchers believe that myopia is on the rise all across the world mainly due to lifestyle factors and predicted half the world’s population could be myopic by 2050. Myopia has also been shown to increase the risk of sight threatening complications such as glaucoma, cataract, and retinal detachment. 

There are simple things you can do to prevent developing serious eye issues. For example, spending two hours outside every day is great for your eyes and helps to lower the risk of becoming short-sighted. If you find yourself gazing at screens all day, you can try to apply the 20-20-20 rule to help your eyes relax. For every 20 minutes spent looking on your digital screens, take 20 seconds to look 20 feet (6 meters) away.

Other than that, an eye exam can identify eye conditions such as glaucoma before it has an effect on your sight. The earlier an eye condition is identified, the easier it is to treat. Regular eye exam gives your Eye Care Professional a chance to help you correct or adapt to vision changes and provide you with tips on how to take care of your eyes.

Deterioration of vision can affect people of all ages, but the burden tends to be greater in rural areas and for women, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and people over 50 years old. At Focus Point, we firmly believe in making eyes and vision care more accessible. We also recognize the importance of good sight and healthy vision, especially for school aged children.

Focus Point Caring Hearts Charity Foundation, launched in year 2007, is Focus Point’s Corporate Social Responsibility arm, undertaking all of the company’s community out-reach programmes to give back to the society. Driven by the motto of “Together, We Make a Difference”, our Foundation has spearheaded numerous charitable initiatives and fund-raising activities. These include World Sight Day, diagnostic eye screenings for students and public, spectacle donations, awareness campaigns and workshops, blood donation drives, charity home visitations and fund donations.

If you notice your eyesight is poor or need vision correction, or if you would like to schedule an eye exam to check on your eye health, visit our stores now! We have more than 230 Eye Care Professionals ready to serve you for a complimentary eye check. 

Click here to get an e-copy of our World Sight Day Booklet for your reading pleasure.

Click here to view our World Sight Day Virtual Launch

LOVE YOUR EYES, EVERYONE COUNTS!

References:

https://www.iapb.org/news/2021-world-sight-day-theme-announced/

https://www.ghp-news.com/the-lockdown-damage-most-are-turning-a-blind-eye-to/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/eye-exam/about/pac-20384655

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1602/160224-short-sightedness.html

https://www.aop.org.uk/ot/science-and-vision/research/2016/02/17/half-of-worlds-population-could-be-myopic-by-2050-study-finds

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nearsightedness/symptoms-causes/syc-20375556