March 23rd across the world is earmarked as the World Optometry Day. However this year, the World Council of Optometry has directed we celebrate the whole week  from the 17th March to  23rd March. The world over will be celebrating the Optometry profession for adding value and changing lives across the world.

This year’s theme is Advancing Optometry’s Commitment To Global Eye Care.

It is a week-long activity of celebrating and creating awareness among the populace about the Optometry profession.

WHO IS AN OPTOMETRIST?

An Optometrist is a trained health care provider who specializes in caring and carrying out comprehensive examination of the eyes and visual system. They examine, diagnose and treat diseases and disorders that affect the eyes and the visual system.

WHERE WOULD YOU FIND AN OPTOMETRIST?

You will typically find the Optometrist working  in public institutions like government hospitals, Teaching hospitals, private clinics, NGOs, etc

The Optometry profession dates back in Nigeria as far back as 1968 when it was established in the University of Benin in the then Bendel state  of Nigeria., where a handful of Optometrists were trained headed then by the late Professor Paul Ogbuehi, popularly regarded as the Father of Optometry in Nigeria .The Department grew through the years graduating several excellent eye care professionals: the “Optometrists”.

Over the years, the profession has grown as several other Schools of Optometry were established across the nation. They can be found  several universities including Abia State University ,Imo State University, Federal University of Technology Owerri and several other institutions.

The regulatory body for the profession is the Optometry and the Dispensing Optician Board of Nigeria (ODORBN), who sets the standard of operation for practices and practitioners, issuing licenses, accrediting and monitoring   schools of Optometry, and many more.

We are celebrating ourselves knowing what value we add to people’s lives on a daily basis across Nigeria and the world in general.

Sights are restored, diagnosis are made for timely interventions, people with partial vision are prescribed with aids to enable them carry on with their daily activities independently. We put smiles on parents and children’s faces alike, whose official and academic performances had previously been affected by poor vision.

I personally had an in-law who went with his family for a concert. He observed everyone except one child who was having so much fun, and on enquiry the daughter told him she could not see anything the others were seeing. There and then he broke down thinking his daughter has gone blind. On examination by an Optometrist, joy was restored as the daughter got her first pair of spectacles being a myope(shortsighted) and so got back her standard vision 6/6.

Another intriguing incidence experienced was when a mother came weeping and beating herself for how mean and insensitive she has been towards her daughter’s incessant complains about her eyes.

The mother explained that her daughter was always the last person out to the car park after school hours and mother was always mad at her ‘poor’ daughter. A day came when she decided to sneak into her daughter’s class to find out the cause of the frequent delays and to her horror, she saw her daughter few inches away from the board struggling to copy her notes in an empty class. There and then they headed straight to the clinic. Their joy knew no bounds on discovering what the issue was as her precious daughter got her very first pair of corrective spectacles. The testimony thereafter was very positive.

Several incidences abound where accurate and timely diagnosis were made that saved sights and lives of both young and old alike

As we celebrate the Optometrist this week, we enjoin members of the public to ensure they visit the Optometrist for a comprehensive eye examination, children, young adults, women, men and the much older ones, no one should be left behind in attaining excellent vision care.

Remember that your eyes are the windows through which light and love are appreciated. We must keep and preserve them to last us a lifetime.

Cheers to: # NIGERIA OPTOMETRIC ASSOCIATION;  #WORLD OPTOMETRY WEEK;  #WORLD OPTOMETRY DAY

By Dr Nneji Carol OD, MNOA.

AZL NOA ZONE 3

Clinic Director, Havilah Eye Care

33 OSOLO WAY, AJAO ESTATE, LAGOS