Amblyopia is the largest preventable cause of visual impairment in children and people under 60 years of age.

Amblyopia, also known as lazy eye or lazy eye, is the leading cause of amblyopia. visual impairment In children and adults under 60 years of age, although the prevalence of this condition is low (2% to 4% of the population), it can be prevented with ophthalmic control.

In the framework of the celebration of World Visual Health Day on October 12 this year, experts recall that amblyopia is a decrease in vision that cannot be directly attributed to any structural abnormality of the eye or visual pathway. It can be unilateral or (less commonly) bilateral.

Amblyopia is the largest preventable cause of visual impairment in children and people under 60 years of age.

It is often called lazy eye or lazy eye and is a failure of a child’s visual development. The main causes are strabismus, anisometropia (difference in magnification between the eyes) or refractive errors such as farsightedness, myopia or astigmatism, when they are high.

Although less common, this condition can also be attributed to reduced vision in one or both eyes, such as “congenital cataracts, upper eyelid ptosis, corneal opacification, and vitreous hemorrhage, the most severe forms of which are proven , difficult to treat.

But the key is that this situation is reversible before the age of seven or eight, because this is the sensory plasticity period, “a period after birth when the visual cortex is unstable and adapts to the influence of experience.” or environment.

Eye exams are required at birth, at six months of age, and every year thereafter.

The most commonly performed eye surgery is cataract surgery.

Pablo Chiaradia, head of the hospital’s ophthalmology department, told Télam that “diabetic retinopathy, a disease that causes blindness, has increased because the diabetic population has increased.”

The doctor explains, “The most commonly performed eye surgery is cataract surgery, which improves people’s quality of life due to advancements in its technology.”

Dr. Adriana Tytiun, a member of the Argentine Council of Ophthalmology (CAO) who works with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), insists that “annual eye exams help prevent, promptly detect and treat vision loss that can lead to serious consequences, from newborns to the elderly.” Quality of life in eye disease.”

Why having good eyesight is important

“Visual impairment can affect work development and increase the risk of anxiety and depression, in addition to reducing autonomy and creating a sense of isolation in older adults or increasing the risk of falls and fractures.”

Conditions such as conjunctivitis and dry eye, although less serious and temporary, are more common reasons for medical visits. It’s understandable that patients come because they have symptoms, but it’s important to make a habit of visiting the ophthalmologist preventatively in the absence of symptoms to avoid developing other diseases or before they cause irreversible damage Spot them early.

Visual health in numbers

According to data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 2.2 billion people suffer from visual impairment, although at least 1 billion people suffer from preventable or untreated visual impairment.

Globally, the leading diseases causing distance vision impairment or blindness are cataracts (94 million people affected), refractive errors (88.4 million people), age-related macular degeneration (8 million people), and glaucoma (7.7 million people) and diabetic retinopathy (3.9 million people), while presbyopia is a disease that causes vision loss in about 826 million people.

Diabetic retinopathy is caused by persistently high blood sugar, which slowly but progressively damages small blood vessels in different parts of the body, including the retina and/or macula (the two inner areas of the eye).

About one in 10 Argentines has diabetes, and 90% of people with type 1 diabetes and 60% of people with type 2 diabetes will develop some form of retinopathy after 20 years.

Glaucoma, the world’s leading cause of irreversible blindness, affects an estimated one million Argentines, and although it is preventable, half are unaware of it.

While anyone can develop the condition, it is more common in people over 40 years old, people with immediate family members who have glaucoma, diabetes, nearsightedness or farsightedness, people who have suffered eye trauma, or who use or have used corticosteroids .