Optom
Photophobia is an involuntary reaction of the eyes when it comes in contact with light, either the natural sunlight or the artificial light from either our bulb or car light; and it is often accompanied with discomforts such as deep piercing ocular pains in the eyeball, associated eyebrow headaches, hyperemia of the conjunctiva, mild to severe blespherospasm etc or sometimes it might present with much milder like slight sandy sensation, but nonetheless ones visual acuity (the extent one sees in open space) is often compromised as a result.
Photophobia could be as a result of active pathology of the eye, it could be as a result of Physiological state of the pupils and the iris pigment or it could affect the individual as a result of error of refraction.
In any active inflammation of the eyes, the iris, which is the most vascularised part of the anterior eye, often responds to postalglandins and other immuno-inflammatory substances present in these area of the eyes. The resultant effect is a breakdown of the blood barrier provided by the iris epithelium with a consequent movement of fluid into the iris spaces and the fluid-logged iris responds to light very sluggishly, rubbing each other in the process, and with am effort too. The pain receptor of the eyes are activated in this situation. Hence, the photophobia experienced in that condition.
When the pupil of the eyes is very large, the extent of contraction under a very bright illumination and/or in an unfavorable glare situation, the pupils often fail to contract enough to allow 'optimum' illumination get into the retina. The individual involuntarily keeps his/her face frowned to cut off the 'excess' light entering the eye and the result is ocular discomfort, pseudo-spasm of the eyebrow and consequently a physiological photophobia ensues. Again, iris with little or no pigment, as seen in light-skinned or Albinos, often exhibits photophobia secondary to light scatter into the eyes. The iris pigments absorbs light from outside the eyes and inside hence reducing total internal reflection of light in the eyes. In absence of these pigments or when these pigments are minimal, total internal reflections, light scatter, enhanced glare sensation results in photophobia.
Photophobia can manifest when an individual is either myopic, hyperopic, astigmatic or anisometropic. Apart from Myopia, the other cases are a consequence of an impaired relationship between accommodation-convergence mechanism of the eyes. The Myopes often have larger than normal pupils and this is an important reason why individuals with myopia exhibit photophobia! It should be remembered that myopes don't accommodate and the induced Amplitude of accommodation they acquire, seldom induces photophobia....
Pupillary sizes change with different levels accommodative changes. Somehow the involuntary 'spasm' that accompanies illumination and the associated change in the accommodative amplitude triggers a form of 'pain' especially if the induced accommodation is beyond the accommodative reserve of the subject, which is always the case in hyperopia, Astigmatism and Anisometropia.
Photophobia as a result of pathology can be relieved when the source of such pathology, e.g. when a patient with anterior uveitis and an associated photophobia has his/her uveitis treated with medications. Physiological Photophobia can only be managed with wearing dark sunshades, especially when outdoors or when exposed to bright light. While the later can be managed by restoring emmetropia with optical lenses that could either be tinted or that could possess be photochromic properties.
Finally, I will advice you with a symptom of photophobia to go and receive an Optometric eye care. This essential step can help you cope and manage with photophobia and the general use of dark sunshades is highly recommended! Don't let any form of photophobia disturb your visual comfort...its your right to enjoy comfortable vision... The Optometrist is your friend. Take care.
Dr Victor Ezebuiroh Okwudiri.
optometry is discussed here, eye diseases and disabilities are highlighted and management of such ocular conditions enumerated.
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
Monday, 23 May 2011
Routine Eye examination, Vision screening and saving the eye sight!
Optom
Most eye conditions are not emergency conditions and are often neglected, often times this becomes our worst undoing!
When Mr X walked into my eye clinic just to do a routine eye examination (he has never been to an eye clinic before and he has no observable symptom) unknown to him, he was going about with 0.6 excavated Optic nerve head bilaterally with his centralvision intact!
In another instance, as I was doing vision screening exercise for a group of volunteers, I saw one Mrs Y who has bilateral degeneration encroaching her macular and on further questioning it became known that she was a chronic diabetic patient (she has been diabetic for almost 12 years!).
A young fellow, A who's just 19 years and wants to be a pilot or a marine engineer did not know that the measles he had when he was 7 years has formed macular scar and drusen in both his eyes. The unfortunate thing is that he wont be able to achieve his dreams since he the condition is a progressive condition.
These are a few persons who do not have any unusual symptom related to vision handicap or any form of visual challenge prior to the eye test. In fact our meeting was out chance and not necessity! They might have been missed in the general population and the ensuring consequence relegated to superstition.
It is a national concern, or should be, that could help save people from unnecessary embarrassment if inculcated into our sub-consciousness- to have time @least ones in a year to visit an eye clinic! It is also welcoming if people would volunteer for eye tests whenever a vision screening program comes to your area, it does not matter if you have an eye problem or not! You could just save your sight by that singular act!
Your eyes are one of the most important organ in the human body. It cannot be replaced ones anything destroys it or makes it become blind! It becomes imperative to pay serious attention to it...We ask you to visit any Optometric or Ophthalmologist clinic in your area for a routine eye examination. Cos a stitch in time always saves nine!
Your eye no get duplicate! Protect it with a passion! You will be doing yourself, your family and the society great service by not becoming blind.
Blindness no dey show for face...it starts with your eyes and ends up affecting the whole society around you. Someone must stop school or work to look after you, your contributions to making the society a better place will be lost and instead you become a burden to yourself and to everyone! We have a role to play here. Do it wisely! Have a lovely week...
Dr Ezebuiroh Victor Okwudiri.
Most eye conditions are not emergency conditions and are often neglected, often times this becomes our worst undoing!
When Mr X walked into my eye clinic just to do a routine eye examination (he has never been to an eye clinic before and he has no observable symptom) unknown to him, he was going about with 0.6 excavated Optic nerve head bilaterally with his centralvision intact!
In another instance, as I was doing vision screening exercise for a group of volunteers, I saw one Mrs Y who has bilateral degeneration encroaching her macular and on further questioning it became known that she was a chronic diabetic patient (she has been diabetic for almost 12 years!).
A young fellow, A who's just 19 years and wants to be a pilot or a marine engineer did not know that the measles he had when he was 7 years has formed macular scar and drusen in both his eyes. The unfortunate thing is that he wont be able to achieve his dreams since he the condition is a progressive condition.
These are a few persons who do not have any unusual symptom related to vision handicap or any form of visual challenge prior to the eye test. In fact our meeting was out chance and not necessity! They might have been missed in the general population and the ensuring consequence relegated to superstition.
It is a national concern, or should be, that could help save people from unnecessary embarrassment if inculcated into our sub-consciousness- to have time @least ones in a year to visit an eye clinic! It is also welcoming if people would volunteer for eye tests whenever a vision screening program comes to your area, it does not matter if you have an eye problem or not! You could just save your sight by that singular act!
Your eyes are one of the most important organ in the human body. It cannot be replaced ones anything destroys it or makes it become blind! It becomes imperative to pay serious attention to it...We ask you to visit any Optometric or Ophthalmologist clinic in your area for a routine eye examination. Cos a stitch in time always saves nine!
Your eye no get duplicate! Protect it with a passion! You will be doing yourself, your family and the society great service by not becoming blind.
Blindness no dey show for face...it starts with your eyes and ends up affecting the whole society around you. Someone must stop school or work to look after you, your contributions to making the society a better place will be lost and instead you become a burden to yourself and to everyone! We have a role to play here. Do it wisely! Have a lovely week...
Dr Ezebuiroh Victor Okwudiri.
Routine Eye examination, Vision screening and saving the eye sight! Part 2
Optom
Most eye conditions are not emergency conditions and are often neglected, often times this becomes our worst undoing!Unlike conditions like hypertension, diabetes, Cardiovascular diseases, Accidents etc which often require an urgent need for medical attention; eye conditions that could lead to blindness don't often present with dramatically serious symptoms and hence it is not given much attention in relation to other health cases. But unfortunately, conditions that can cause blindness, eye diseases that are chronic and that has ability to reduce the patient to visually challenged or visual handicap statue are capable of evading early dictation! Take for instance open angle Glaucoma or senile cataract! Do not forget too that conditions like Retinitis Pigmentosa etc are painless but sight threatening!
Routine eye examination involves voluntary eye tests to ensure that there is no deviation in ocular anatomy and doing functional tests for the eyes to rule out any deviation in ocular physiology. Such tests like Visual Acuity, penlight examination of the pupils etc qualifies for functonal tests! In Routine eye examination, patient is not necessarily symptomatic. individuals are often enlightened and/or motivated to take care of his/her eyes! In routine examination, the following procedure of test batteries are performed! Patient is first required to complete a personal demographic data followed by question and answer session with the eye care specialist. In this process a case history file on the patient is developed and likely chief complaint (if there is any) is identified. The next step involves taking visual acuity @far and @ near followed by doing external examination either with a penlight, ophthalmoscope or with a slit lamp biomicroscope. The eyelid, the conjunctiva, the iris, the conjunctiva and pupillary reaction to light etc are checked and any loss of anatomic and/or physiologic integrity is noted. It is followed by doing an objective refraction either with a retinoscope or auto-refractors. There is need to do a subjective refraction, with or without significant change in visual acuity! The next step involves using the ophthalmoscope to view the posterior fundus of the eye. The aqueous humor, Optic nerve head, the retinal walls and vessels, the vitreous gel, the maculae area and the fovea centralis should be viewed and changes documented. I advocate for dilated fundus examination of atleast one eye except in situation where it could be contra-indicative, say, in closed angle glaucoma or patients with very narrow angle! In most cases, the batteries of tests could reveal subtle changes in the eyes that could be sight threatening! If needs be, I will also encourage further tests for differential diagnosis and confirmation of a particular pathology or defect! Such tests like Tangent screen tests, central visual field tests, intra ocular pressure checks, color vision tests, flouresin tests etc could come in handy to rule out disease conditions!
On the other hand, Vision screening involves gross routine tests to rule out any visual anomaly. It is less complex than routine eye test and even much simpler than a thorough eye examination as performed in a clinic! You can screen for glaucoma in the adult population; you can screen for refractive error among school children; you can screen for hypertensive and/or diabetic retinopathy in patients having this chronic diseases! You can screen for cataract in the adult populations etc! It involves tests like visual acuity tests far and near. Confrontational tests. Shadow tests. Broad H tests etc It is usually carried out in public places but it is not unusual to have it in a clinic! Vision screening is very handy when parents are registering their children in school! it is very important when security men are conscripted or when a company is trying to employ new workers! Though some subtle changes in the eye might be missed, it is nontheless very necessary to identify sight threatening conditions in a group of people! In situation whereby the eyes are suspicious referal to appropiate eye care experts becomes important! A thorough eye examination would be carried out by the expert!
In Optometry practice both here in Nigeria and the world @ large, we are involved continously with patients and the public to nip eye disease condition in the bud! Being primary eye care providers, our practice requires us to encourage the general population to participate fully to screen, examine and/or thoroughly do eye tests to identify and manage eye conditions that might not necessarily be symptomatic but could be sight threatenig! I am encouraging colleagues and other eye care specialists to develop vision screening models, routine eye examination models and other specific examinations to alleviate the consequences of blindness! It is our ethical and moral responsibilities to ensure that blindness is avoided! Thank you.
Dr Ezebuiroh Victor Okwudiri.
Most eye conditions are not emergency conditions and are often neglected, often times this becomes our worst undoing!Unlike conditions like hypertension, diabetes, Cardiovascular diseases, Accidents etc which often require an urgent need for medical attention; eye conditions that could lead to blindness don't often present with dramatically serious symptoms and hence it is not given much attention in relation to other health cases. But unfortunately, conditions that can cause blindness, eye diseases that are chronic and that has ability to reduce the patient to visually challenged or visual handicap statue are capable of evading early dictation! Take for instance open angle Glaucoma or senile cataract! Do not forget too that conditions like Retinitis Pigmentosa etc are painless but sight threatening!
Routine eye examination involves voluntary eye tests to ensure that there is no deviation in ocular anatomy and doing functional tests for the eyes to rule out any deviation in ocular physiology. Such tests like Visual Acuity, penlight examination of the pupils etc qualifies for functonal tests! In Routine eye examination, patient is not necessarily symptomatic. individuals are often enlightened and/or motivated to take care of his/her eyes! In routine examination, the following procedure of test batteries are performed! Patient is first required to complete a personal demographic data followed by question and answer session with the eye care specialist. In this process a case history file on the patient is developed and likely chief complaint (if there is any) is identified. The next step involves taking visual acuity @far and @ near followed by doing external examination either with a penlight, ophthalmoscope or with a slit lamp biomicroscope. The eyelid, the conjunctiva, the iris, the conjunctiva and pupillary reaction to light etc are checked and any loss of anatomic and/or physiologic integrity is noted. It is followed by doing an objective refraction either with a retinoscope or auto-refractors. There is need to do a subjective refraction, with or without significant change in visual acuity! The next step involves using the ophthalmoscope to view the posterior fundus of the eye. The aqueous humor, Optic nerve head, the retinal walls and vessels, the vitreous gel, the maculae area and the fovea centralis should be viewed and changes documented. I advocate for dilated fundus examination of atleast one eye except in situation where it could be contra-indicative, say, in closed angle glaucoma or patients with very narrow angle! In most cases, the batteries of tests could reveal subtle changes in the eyes that could be sight threatening! If needs be, I will also encourage further tests for differential diagnosis and confirmation of a particular pathology or defect! Such tests like Tangent screen tests, central visual field tests, intra ocular pressure checks, color vision tests, flouresin tests etc could come in handy to rule out disease conditions!
On the other hand, Vision screening involves gross routine tests to rule out any visual anomaly. It is less complex than routine eye test and even much simpler than a thorough eye examination as performed in a clinic! You can screen for glaucoma in the adult population; you can screen for refractive error among school children; you can screen for hypertensive and/or diabetic retinopathy in patients having this chronic diseases! You can screen for cataract in the adult populations etc! It involves tests like visual acuity tests far and near. Confrontational tests. Shadow tests. Broad H tests etc It is usually carried out in public places but it is not unusual to have it in a clinic! Vision screening is very handy when parents are registering their children in school! it is very important when security men are conscripted or when a company is trying to employ new workers! Though some subtle changes in the eye might be missed, it is nontheless very necessary to identify sight threatening conditions in a group of people! In situation whereby the eyes are suspicious referal to appropiate eye care experts becomes important! A thorough eye examination would be carried out by the expert!
In Optometry practice both here in Nigeria and the world @ large, we are involved continously with patients and the public to nip eye disease condition in the bud! Being primary eye care providers, our practice requires us to encourage the general population to participate fully to screen, examine and/or thoroughly do eye tests to identify and manage eye conditions that might not necessarily be symptomatic but could be sight threatenig! I am encouraging colleagues and other eye care specialists to develop vision screening models, routine eye examination models and other specific examinations to alleviate the consequences of blindness! It is our ethical and moral responsibilities to ensure that blindness is avoided! Thank you.
Dr Ezebuiroh Victor Okwudiri.
Sunday, 22 May 2011
optometry.naija: The Challenges militating against Optometry practi...
optometry.naija: The Challenges militating against Optometry practi...: "OptomNigerian Optometric practice is essential to effective eye care in Nigeria and no doubt about that...The challenges of eye care in Nige..."
Optom
Optom
The Challenges militating against Optometry practice in Nigeria and effective participation in Vision2020 :Right to Sight. (An Updated version of the origina blog!)
Optom
Nigerian Optometric practice is essential to effective eye care in Nigeria and no doubt about that...
The challenges of eye care in Nigeria with a population of about 150 million with just about 2130 registered Optometrists and I think with a fewer Ophthalmologists who draw strength from their parent body, The Nigerian Medical and Dental Association etc etc, are very enormous. The politico-academic position of the Optometrists is neither helping the matter nor is it alleviating the burden of blindness and visual handicap as envisioned by Vision 2020: Right to Sight!
As I have been saying all along, we need to position our practice, professionalize a Nigerian version of Optometry by empowering members to do researches and hence develop a statistical effect of blindness, causes of such blinding conditions, develop a model of practice, browbeat our professional heads (ODOBN & NOA) into growing some teeth, ensuring our state chapters of Nigerian Optometric Association is fully represented in state ministries of Health... I will advice that another professional body, primarily for Professional Optometrists, be formed. This body should oversee professional Practice among Optometrists in Practice, we can call it Nigerian Optometrist Society (N.O.S.). Unlike ODOBN & NOA, this professional body would require a written exam to become a member! The examination should discuss the scope of practice and developments in visual health and general eye care. Also the body should be conducting an online examination annually for professional Optometrists.
We need to develop our school curriculum to embrace contemporary realities... We are not opticians, need is rife to prove that we are Optometrists, that we are truly Primary eye care Practitioners. There is need to equip our Schools with newer technological advanced instruments and employ fully motivated professionals relating to the general scope of our practice. We should advocate for residency programs and ensure that fellowship courses are institutionalized. N.O.S. school chapters should be involved in eye researches for students and intern Optometrists and it should be funded by the school and the body @ the national level. There is also a serious need to enforce a gold standard both in education and practice of Optometry in Nigeria. We need to specialize and hence become consultants in a particular aspect of eye care, if we aim @ becoming heads of Departments. The later is a prerequisite to forming a Department of Optometry in Health care setting!
We need a stronger representation in Ministry of Health than mere having an office there alone. Optometry can generate more money than most Professional bodies under Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria if properly packaged. All Optical services and resources should be supervised by Optometrists and dispensing Optician Board of Nigeria (O.D.O.B.N) and a fee should be charged for such services and payable to the coffers of the Ministry of Health! Including the funds generated from renewal of registrations, fees generated by N.O.S/ N.O.S.A (Nigerian Optometrists Society/ Nigerian Optometrist Students Association, if started!), fees generated by dispensing of lenses and other eye care services rendered by Optometrists in both federal and state owned hospitals (If more Optometrists are employed in Public health sector. Currently, they under-employed and under utilized in that sector!), funds generated from manufacturing of lenses both @ home and supervision of those imported into the country.
Finally, we should become fully independent of Ophthalmologists, especially in the area of competence development, professional growth and in practice...we should rather develop a complementary relationship in eye health care services with them. We need the Ministry of Health to wade into this chronic 'warfare' that has left eye care in the mercy of charlatans. The imbroglio between these two bodies is the most important factor that has reduced whatever the dreams of Vision 2020 both @ home and internationally...especially here in Nigeria. We are oppressed by them through that rebellious Decree 34 of 1989 which is very anti-Optometrist and should be totally over hauled and new clauses incorporated into it. Our academic chasm is so obvious that the Nigerian Optometrist is often academically intimidated into whatever name or role they wish us to play (they are the architectural design of O.D.O.B.N, like virus they replicate WHO we should be in practice & the last time I might remember, they don't bloody care about us, "@least the Ophthalmic nurse is there!". To achieve what 'Vision 2020 :Right to Sight' stands for, the current trend of Optometry practice should be updated by us, the constitution reviewed to change outdated clauses, develop a 'Nigerian Optometrist Society' to reposition Optometry professionally through research while ODOBN should supervise Optometry practice including resources and personel. NOA should be responsible both to the dispensing Opticians, Optometrists, Optometric technicians and other members in the eye health sector.
I am not making any political nor sentimental contribution to the obvious discuss; am only stating the fact!
Take for instance the way unlicensed and even some licensed opticians invade people in their homes to make glasses for them, while @ the same time claiming to be healers of sight problems! They end up forcing many optometrists into the foray! What results? A desperate attempt to foist glasses and drugs on people without ethically considering our actions! We need to live up to our doctors status, most are self employed and cannot meet up financially with our peers employed by the state or federal government! There is no regulatory over sight mechanism in place by neither ODORBN nor NOA! They are two toothless bulldogs that cannot even bark...@ least not now; not yet! If am being biased in my opinion, why did Optometry in Nigeria not include its own clause in the recently passed National Health Bill? Why are state branches of NOA/ODORBN not fully assimilated into state ministry of healths just like NMA, Pharmasists, Lab scientists etc?
Look @ this other scenario, an Ophthalmologist who seems to question our credibility in the field! Its always a thing of pride for them to undermine our efforts making it very easy for ophthalmic nurses and even cleaners in eye centres to atimes question our profession! I do not always blame them. Lets call a spade a spade, how many functional slit lamp biomicroscope do we have in Abia State university, school of Optometry now? Because as at 2006 there was no fully functional one in our clinic! How is Optometry learned in Madonna University? Is the school fully accredited to practice Optometry? Has the board visited the institution's school of Optometry for inspection? Credibility of some of our lecturers should be noted here too! In some instance, we often witness some of our lecturers who are not practicing! Optometry is a practical application of theoretical knowledge, I find it very improper for a lecturer not to have a practical knowedge of Optometry and still be allowed to lecture us! And many other sharp practices in our citadels of learning that go unhindered because no serious oversight by our regulatory bodies and absolute lack of "standards"!
It is a fact that a deep chasm exits between us and the Ophthalmologists, but the prejudice against the Optometrists by the Nigerian Medical Association and other allied health assoiations is frustrating!Yet it should not deter us from contributing our quota towards eliminating avoidable causes of blindness by 2020 and beyond.
We should remember that we just have about 9 years to get to year 2020...its rather absurd that we cannot claim any meaningful headway in halting the embarrassment blindness and visual handicap is wreaking on us! We have been busy boxing shadows...Posterity needs more than these from US! Great Optometry in Nigeria!
concluded!
Nigerian Optometric practice is essential to effective eye care in Nigeria and no doubt about that...
The challenges of eye care in Nigeria with a population of about 150 million with just about 2130 registered Optometrists and I think with a fewer Ophthalmologists who draw strength from their parent body, The Nigerian Medical and Dental Association etc etc, are very enormous. The politico-academic position of the Optometrists is neither helping the matter nor is it alleviating the burden of blindness and visual handicap as envisioned by Vision 2020: Right to Sight!
As I have been saying all along, we need to position our practice, professionalize a Nigerian version of Optometry by empowering members to do researches and hence develop a statistical effect of blindness, causes of such blinding conditions, develop a model of practice, browbeat our professional heads (ODOBN & NOA) into growing some teeth, ensuring our state chapters of Nigerian Optometric Association is fully represented in state ministries of Health... I will advice that another professional body, primarily for Professional Optometrists, be formed. This body should oversee professional Practice among Optometrists in Practice, we can call it Nigerian Optometrist Society (N.O.S.). Unlike ODOBN & NOA, this professional body would require a written exam to become a member! The examination should discuss the scope of practice and developments in visual health and general eye care. Also the body should be conducting an online examination annually for professional Optometrists.
We need to develop our school curriculum to embrace contemporary realities... We are not opticians, need is rife to prove that we are Optometrists, that we are truly Primary eye care Practitioners. There is need to equip our Schools with newer technological advanced instruments and employ fully motivated professionals relating to the general scope of our practice. We should advocate for residency programs and ensure that fellowship courses are institutionalized. N.O.S. school chapters should be involved in eye researches for students and intern Optometrists and it should be funded by the school and the body @ the national level. There is also a serious need to enforce a gold standard both in education and practice of Optometry in Nigeria. We need to specialize and hence become consultants in a particular aspect of eye care, if we aim @ becoming heads of Departments. The later is a prerequisite to forming a Department of Optometry in Health care setting!
We need a stronger representation in Ministry of Health than mere having an office there alone. Optometry can generate more money than most Professional bodies under Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria if properly packaged. All Optical services and resources should be supervised by Optometrists and dispensing Optician Board of Nigeria (O.D.O.B.N) and a fee should be charged for such services and payable to the coffers of the Ministry of Health! Including the funds generated from renewal of registrations, fees generated by N.O.S/ N.O.S.A (Nigerian Optometrists Society/ Nigerian Optometrist Students Association, if started!), fees generated by dispensing of lenses and other eye care services rendered by Optometrists in both federal and state owned hospitals (If more Optometrists are employed in Public health sector. Currently, they under-employed and under utilized in that sector!), funds generated from manufacturing of lenses both @ home and supervision of those imported into the country.
Finally, we should become fully independent of Ophthalmologists, especially in the area of competence development, professional growth and in practice...we should rather develop a complementary relationship in eye health care services with them. We need the Ministry of Health to wade into this chronic 'warfare' that has left eye care in the mercy of charlatans. The imbroglio between these two bodies is the most important factor that has reduced whatever the dreams of Vision 2020 both @ home and internationally...especially here in Nigeria. We are oppressed by them through that rebellious Decree 34 of 1989 which is very anti-Optometrist and should be totally over hauled and new clauses incorporated into it. Our academic chasm is so obvious that the Nigerian Optometrist is often academically intimidated into whatever name or role they wish us to play (they are the architectural design of O.D.O.B.N, like virus they replicate WHO we should be in practice & the last time I might remember, they don't bloody care about us, "@least the Ophthalmic nurse is there!". To achieve what 'Vision 2020 :Right to Sight' stands for, the current trend of Optometry practice should be updated by us, the constitution reviewed to change outdated clauses, develop a 'Nigerian Optometrist Society' to reposition Optometry professionally through research while ODOBN should supervise Optometry practice including resources and personel. NOA should be responsible both to the dispensing Opticians, Optometrists, Optometric technicians and other members in the eye health sector.
I am not making any political nor sentimental contribution to the obvious discuss; am only stating the fact!
Take for instance the way unlicensed and even some licensed opticians invade people in their homes to make glasses for them, while @ the same time claiming to be healers of sight problems! They end up forcing many optometrists into the foray! What results? A desperate attempt to foist glasses and drugs on people without ethically considering our actions! We need to live up to our doctors status, most are self employed and cannot meet up financially with our peers employed by the state or federal government! There is no regulatory over sight mechanism in place by neither ODORBN nor NOA! They are two toothless bulldogs that cannot even bark...@ least not now; not yet! If am being biased in my opinion, why did Optometry in Nigeria not include its own clause in the recently passed National Health Bill? Why are state branches of NOA/ODORBN not fully assimilated into state ministry of healths just like NMA, Pharmasists, Lab scientists etc?
Look @ this other scenario, an Ophthalmologist who seems to question our credibility in the field! Its always a thing of pride for them to undermine our efforts making it very easy for ophthalmic nurses and even cleaners in eye centres to atimes question our profession! I do not always blame them. Lets call a spade a spade, how many functional slit lamp biomicroscope do we have in Abia State university, school of Optometry now? Because as at 2006 there was no fully functional one in our clinic! How is Optometry learned in Madonna University? Is the school fully accredited to practice Optometry? Has the board visited the institution's school of Optometry for inspection? Credibility of some of our lecturers should be noted here too! In some instance, we often witness some of our lecturers who are not practicing! Optometry is a practical application of theoretical knowledge, I find it very improper for a lecturer not to have a practical knowedge of Optometry and still be allowed to lecture us! And many other sharp practices in our citadels of learning that go unhindered because no serious oversight by our regulatory bodies and absolute lack of "standards"!
It is a fact that a deep chasm exits between us and the Ophthalmologists, but the prejudice against the Optometrists by the Nigerian Medical Association and other allied health assoiations is frustrating!Yet it should not deter us from contributing our quota towards eliminating avoidable causes of blindness by 2020 and beyond.
We should remember that we just have about 9 years to get to year 2020...its rather absurd that we cannot claim any meaningful headway in halting the embarrassment blindness and visual handicap is wreaking on us! We have been busy boxing shadows...Posterity needs more than these from US! Great Optometry in Nigeria!
concluded!
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