Do you really need eyeglasses?

 Opticians around town are in the business of selling eyeglasses and as the Sunday Vision reporter reveals, most will do whatever it takes, even if it means convincing you that you have eye defects in order to sell their eyeglasses

 At my workplace one morning, our human resources department invites optical experts who are offering free examination to staff members. I use this chance to have an eye examination. The person who checks me tells me I am short-sighted and I need to buy a pair of glasses immediately to save my sight. A pair costs sh60,000. The team has some glasses on display, but Iam hesitant to pay for glasses right way. 

A few weeks later, my eyes are itching and I decide to seek a second opinion from opticians in downtown Kampala.  At the optical centre near Pioneer Mall, the eye doctor of Asian origin says my sight “has a few issues.” I can read all the letters he gives me to read, from a distance and under whatever amount of light. But he explains, I needed to buy lenses to protect my eyes from light. “It could be the reason your eyes are itching,” he says. 

A dark-skinned middle-  aged woman, who is seated near the reception, takes me around, showing me dozens of eyeglasses. “They cost between sh80,000 and sh300,000,” she says.

“It depends on which type of frame and lens you want.” I pay the consultation fee (sh10,000) and promise to return the following day when I have the money. I proceed to an optician on Kampala Road.

The checkup takes less than five minutes  the tall dark-skinned guy checks me and says I actually have no problem. But I would need eyeglasses to protect my eyes when I am reading or driving at night. “

You can use them when you are reading,” he says, and asks me to pay sh10,000 before leaving. He needs sh150,000 for glasses but I do not have the money.

After these two examinations, I am feeling a little strained, as the eye examinations involved directly pointing light into my eye, or trying on different lenses.  The next day, I visit another optician on Wilson Road. Here, consultation is free of charge.

There are two guys of Asian origin. One of them leads me to the consultation room, which has the eye examination equipment. Within two minutes, of reading letters and trying on lenses, he says: “Your sight is not too bad. But you need glasses to protect you, before it is too late.” We go back to the main store and he gives me a mirror. I try on different shapes of eyeglasses. 

The one I pick apparently costs sh230,000. “But I don’t have the money,” I tell him. “Pay whatever little deposit you have so we start making your lenses right away. You can return in the afternoon.”I pay sh10,000 and he gives me a small yellow card, which I will present when I return.Still not convinced that I need eyeglasses, I go for a fourth opinion at an eye centre on Johnstone Street.

There is free eye examination here too. And the optician tells me my vision is fine. He prescribes eye drops for my itchy eyes, but also states that I need eyeglasses to protect me from light. “The cost will depend on the lens and frames you choose,” he says. I pay sh8000 for the eye drops.

A colleague advises me to look for an ophthalmologist. I randomly go through the Uganda doctor’s website and I pick on a senior consultant ophthalmologist, Dr. Geoffrey Wabulembo. We make a Friday afternoon appointment.

After he does a complete eye checkup, he tells me my eye sight is very good and above average, so I do not need glasses. However, he asks me how I feel and how long I sit before a computer daily.

“Do you think you really need them?” he repeatedly inquires, since my sight was very good. “If you feel you have  problems with the computer light, and you work for so many hours, I can give you a prescription. But you must NOT wear them all the time. It will only be when you feel you cannot hold the strain on your eyes,” Wabulembo tells me. The glasses would not have any lens in them, he stresses.

OPTICIANS VERSUS  OPHTHALMOLOGISTS
Every day, many Ugandans are duped by opticians, who appear to be more interested in selling glasses than in the health of the eyes.

Eye specialists explain that ideally, one should first see an ophthalmologist before going to the optician. “An optician is just a businessman, who wants to make money all the time,” says Dr. Amos Wintison Twinamasiko, an ophthalmologist at Mbarara University of Science and Technology.

That explains why some people who wear glasses in most cases feel that the glasses are worsening their condition and not improving them.

“An optician might not be able to detect other eye conditions, which you might have. If your eyes are itching, please see an ophthalmologist to detect the underlying illness,” says Twinamasiko.

According to Dr. Tukei Namwoyo, an ophthalmologist at Soroti Referral Hospital,  there are many complications that affect the eye without necessarily compromising one’s sight.

These range from diabetes, sickle cells, hypertension and malaria, among others. Sometimes, it could be congenital abnormalities such as tumors, cancers, glaucoma among other eye diseases.

“All these lead to poor vision. For instance, even a wrong dosage of malaria treatment could affect your eyes. Sometimes, you have early signs of, say  diabetes and they have a poor vision; when you control the diabetes, the vision improves and you realise you might not need the glasses,” says Namwoyo.

Namwoyo stresses that a specialist doctor must be able to rule out all these complications before determining whether it is only a refractive error.“

There are some diseases, which make you think that you need the glasses; but if all you have is a refractive error, he will recommend glasses and give you a prescription, which you will then take to an optician,” he says.  He emphasises that opticians are “technicians who are not able to detect other eye conditions apart from long or shortsightedness

.”Other reasons why one may need glasses are advanced age, especially when one is over 35 years of age.  Namwoyo explains that one should not wear glasses because of computers.“There are people who are affected by the light on the computers, we advise them to put screens on their monitors.

Alternatively, if you are walking in strong light, you should wear shades,” Namwoyo says. Dr. Twinamatsiko also says the issue of computers affecting eyes “is just in people’s mind.”The major refractive errors are shortsightedness (seeing things that are close, but have trouble seeing things farther away) and longsightedness (seeing far objects, but not closer things).

Sometimes, it can be blurred vision.Although statistics are scanty, there seems to be a serious shortage of ophthalmologists in Uganda. According to the register seen by Sunday Vision, there are only 36 ophthalmologists registered by the Uganda Medical Council. This number is too small for a population of 34 million Ugandans.

Doctors recommend that you visit an opthalmologist for eye checks before going to the optician


 Does your child need eyeglasses?

 Increasingly, children are wearing glasses at a much younger age. Experts say the visual needs of children are far different from adults.

A child may need glasses, another, whose eyes are only slightly out of focus, may be best served by not wearing glasses at all. An ophthalmologist or optometrist is skilled at checking the focusing of the eyes,” says an eye doctor at Mengo Hospital.

Some of the signs that a child might need medical attention include, sitting too close to the television or lowering the head while reading. This is often a sign of shortsightedness. Other warning signs include skipping lines while reading, constant headaches, tearing, rubbing eyes or covering one eye to read.

Children should have their eyes checked at the age of six months, three years, four years and after every year from the age of five, according to doctors.“Eye glasses will help, but not cure, vision problems,” Dr. Twinamasiko cautions. “You need to know the problem first; sometimes it can be treated.”

 TIPS ON GOOD EYE CARE

•     Do not read under the sunlight.
•     Have a protective screen for your computer monitor. You can adjust the brightness of the computer.
•     Eat healthy. Eat raw carrots or drink carrot juice. Carrots are rich in Vitamin A, which is very essential for healthy eyes and better night vision. Eat spinach as it contains nutrients that are essential for eye tissues and retina. It may help reverse some few eye conditions.
•    Do not look at a bright light directly. Never focus your eyes on the sun directly, as it can damage your eyes.
•     Do not read in dim light. Reading in dim light can cause eye strain, but will not damage your eyes.