How are your eyes today? Are they perhaps a bit sore, a little achy from a late night or too much screen time? Or do they feel a little dry from the effects of autumn winds or central heating?
The fact is that far too often we tend to take our eyes for granted. All of the above might be transitory effects, easily explained by our lifestyles or external factors. And yet, sore, achy or dry eyes could also be early warning signs for further eye problems ahead. And we can only go on ignoring those warning signs for so long before inaction could lead to permanent damage.
Let’s make one thing clear. Our eyes, in common with the rest of our bodies can have good days and bad days. There’s no need to rush off for an eye check up if the effect we are feeling is transitory and non-repeating. Having said that, being more eye aware can help to spot patterns developing and act as a trigger for making that all important eye care appointment.
That’s why the theme of World Sight Day in 2022 is ‘love your eyes.’ [1] At a time in which a quarter of the world’s population has some form of visual impairment, it is never too soon to stop and take more care of our eyes.
Particularly when you consider that half of those visual impairments could have been prevented. [2] So in addition to raising awareness, the organisers of World Sight Day are also asking people to pledge to love their eyes, to prioritise their eyes, to protect their eyes, and to put their eyes first.
If that pledge sounds daunting, it is simply a personal commitment to be aware of eye health, to get regular check-ups, to use safety or sunglasses, to spend time outdoors and to eat foods which will help to boost eye health. Most importantly it is a pledge to act quickly as soon as there are any signs that eye health may not be as good as it might be.
At the time of writing more than four million people have pledged to love their eyes. The organisers are hoping to reach five million pledges by the day itself on 13th October 2022. Pledging to love your eyes and get them checked out might not seem like much. But if acting on that pledge results in a condition being picked up and treated at an early stage, it could just save someone’s sight.