Hospital offers free eye screening to 70 residents

dimeji akinloye

October 21, 2016 10:43 AM

The hospital organised the screening as part of measures to reach out to residents who cannot afford the cost of treatment.

Eye treatment.

Garki Hospital in the

Dr Sewuese Bitto, Head, Department of Ophthalmology, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the hospital partnered with Norvatis to carry out the screening.

NAN reports that Novartis is a global healthcare company based in Switzerland that provides solutions to meet the evolving needs of patients worldwide.

Bitto said the hospital organised the screening as part of measures to reach out to residents especially those who could not afford the cost of treatment.

“What we observed during the screening is that most people were suffering from allergic conjunctivitis.

`This is not unusual because this eye disease is predominant when the seasons are changing.

“Another disease we saw is the endemic viral conjunctivitis that is called the Apollo; we have seen quite a number of patients with this condition in recent times also due to the seasonal change.

“We also see cases of glaucoma, cataract, and persons suffering from refractive error.

“The aspect of refractive error we have seen most is the ‘Presbyopia’.

“This refers to the type of error that occurs in individuals around the age of 40.

“At this age, the individual is not fully equipped to accommodate the process that takes place when one looks at a distant object and tries to focus on the near object.

“The person finds it difficult to do so because the ability to do that is weakened because of age,” Bitto said.

She said that eye glasses and drugs were distributed to patients were needed.

Bitto urged the public to ensure they go for medical checkup frequently to ensure they received appropriate assistance as the state of wellness does not mean the absence of disease.

dimeji akinloye