APRIL, 2019 | Th e HEALTH
HIGHLIGHT: VISION 2020
17
Having good
vision is important
BY WOON PAK SEONG
GETTING a good education gives us a good
foundation for our career and 80% of learning
is through vision, be it to see the whiteboard,
computer and reading materials.
Excelling at sports require good vision too
as we need to judge distances accurately
and to improve eye and body, hand and leg
coordination.
Most jobs require good vision e.g. a surgeon,
an accountant, a tailor, a chef, a pilot, a
computer analyst, a teacher, a graphic designer
Imagine going through your day without vision
or with poor vision. Therefore it is important to
take care of your eyes.
However, we often take our vision for granted
and do not care enough for our eyes. People with
vision problems wait too long before getting an
eye exam.
Most vision problems can be treated if
detected early. Often it is too late if we only go to
an optometrist when we experience blur or pain
. By then, the loss of vision could be irreversible
and the degradation could not be stopped.
We at the Association of Malaysian
Optometrists and the Malaysian Optical Council
would encourage a yearly comprehensive eye
examination with the optometrists.
This comprehensive eye examination include
1. A case history including past and present
Vision and medical issues
CERTIFIED ONLY: Nor Azizah encourages the public to go for eye checkups at any certifi ed
optometrist to prevent worsening eye condition.
visiting. We want to ensure safety and proper prac-
tices are carried out as a way to protect the public
from dangerous side eff ects of improper prescribed
corrective lenses.”
World Optometry Day
every year, the World Council of Optometry put aside
a day and the week after to spread the awareness about
optometry as a profession. although the auspicious
are not as well-known as World Sight Day, it does pay
tribute to the optometrists around the world and
how they are contributing to the overall health and
well-being.
“We are sorry to say that we hadn’t stressed much
about World Optometrist Day in Malaysia, as the
annual provisions are going into World Sight Day
instead. We do however feel that it should be made
more well-known to the public and the optometrists
themselves,” azizah comments.
Th e notion is sadly true. We as society haven’t
given much thought about the importance of the
optometry practice. Th ey stand in the frontlines of eye
diseases. Because when you are aware of your eyesight
worsening, the easiest place to get it checked is at the
optometrist rather than the clinic or hospital.
“and a certifi ed optometrist can perform all the
necessary tests to identify the issue you have with
your eyesight, whether you just need corrective lenses
or a reference to the eye doctor,” she adds.
Vision 2020
next year would be the perfect for the MOC to put in
eff ort for World Optometry Day. Th e year 2020 coin-
cides with perfect vision, usually described as having
20/20 vision.
“We will defi nitely have more for next year’s World
Optometry Day. We need the public to understand the
importance of optometry, and how it could prevent
us from having serious eye conditions,” says azizah.
— Th e Health
2. Understanding customer’s vision needs at
home, school and play
3. Measure how well one sees currently
4. Determine refractive error ( short sightedness,
long-sightedness, astigmatism, presbyopia)
5. Determine ability to use both eyes together
6. Check status of colour vision
7. Assessment of eye health anterior and
posterior
8. Assess visual system
You can look for an optometrist nearest to you
at www.amo.org.my/Findanoptometrist.
Check your eyes yearly to enjoy your world and
your life clearly.
Woon Pak Seong is an optometrist, and
currently the President of the Association of
Malaysian Optometrists.
be an indication that they might be near-or
long-sighted.
according to Woon Pak Seong, President of the
association of Malaysian Optometrists, as near-
sightedness is more common, here are some of the
‘symptoms’ we can look out for:
• Squinting their eyes when they try to look at things
that are far away
• Looking at things at too close of a distance
• Having trouble with what is taught at school
(because they can’t see they board clearly)
• Becoming more reserved and anti-social (not seeing
clearly can aff ect how they socialize with friends
and family)
• Th e last two symptoms are important to iden-
tify early, because having bad eyesight can
seriously aff ect your children’s learning and social
development.
“Th e best thing to do is to have them checked for
their eyesight before they need to go to school, so at
around 5 or 6 years old,” says Woon.
Annual checkups is necessary
Th e MOC implores everyone, kids and parents alike,
to go for annual eyesight checks at your local optom-
etrist. and of course, look for ones that are certifi ed
by the MOC. — Th e Health
Woon Pak Seong stresses the need to have our children checked for their eyesight before they go to
school, as near-sightedness may signifi cantly aff ect their learning process.