HUNDREDS TURN UP FOR FREE EYE TREATMENT AS COUNTY MARKS WORLD SIGHT DAY

Hundreds of Nandi residents with eye complications flocked Kaptumo Sub County Hospital in Aldai to receive free eye check ups and treatment.

The free exercise was organized by the County Government of Nandi in partnership with Operation Eyesight Universal in commemoration of the World Sight Day (WSD) with the theme: “Love Your Eyes.”

World Sight Day is an important day in the eye health calendar. It is an annual awareness day that is observed on the second Thursday of October every year.

World Sight Day aims to focus global attention on blindness, vision impairment and eye care.

Florah Kiplagat, the County Ophthalmic Clinical Officer and Cataract Surgeon based at the Kapsabet County Referral Hospital said that the overwhelming turn up is an indication that many people in the county suffer from eye diseases. She revealed that the majority of the patients they have registered have cataracts.

Florah said cataracts develop when the metabolism of the body changes, causing the lenses of the eyes to lose transparency. She explained that although the primary cause of cataracts is old age, the problem is more common than any other eye defect because it is caused by many factors such as unregulated use of drugs, accidents, diabetes, and diseases that cause dehydration among others.

She said 20 per cent of those who attended the free clinic had very severe allergies and were receiving their treatment for the first time.

Florah also noted that most of the elderly who visited the free clinic were detected with eye cataracts and needed operation were booked for the same at the facility tomorrow.

Another percentage, she said, had refractive errors and needed glasses as the Hospital monitors their progress.

At the same time, some people, especially the elderly were detected with problems with their Latinas, because of issues of diabetes and high blood pressure.

She said the massive turnout at the event demonstrates the need to visit more remote areas of the county.

“It is always rewarding to see eye patients able to see again after being blind for many years, we need to organize camps in more villages,” she said.

She advised the residents of Nandi to go for frequent eye clinics as part of ensuring that their health is maintained and monitored properly.