Tabletop eyeglasses are hazardous to the eye – GOA warns

The Ghana Optometric Association (GOA) has warned that tabletop spectacles are hazardous to the eyes, and cautioned the public to refrain from purchasing eyeglasses from roadside vendors.

“Buying eyeglasses from the wayside vendor could end up destroying your eyes,” Dr. Kwame Oben-Nyarko, stated at the sixth series of Ghana News Agency-Tema Regional Office and the Ghana Optometric Association fortnightly public sensitization initiative “GNA-GOA: My Eye! My Vision!

The fortnight initiative is a collaborative public education advocacy campaign to promote the need for people to access eye care and also to draw attention to vision health, which was monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Tema.

The GNA-GOA: My Eyes! My Vision! The initiative also seeks to challenge the public and policymakers to focus on vision as a health issue, which forms a critical component of mankind’s wellbeing but is often neglected.

Speaking on: “Acquiring a pair of spectacles: What you need to know,” Dr. Oben-Nyarko urged the public to acquire spectacles from either an eye clinic or an optical shop, stressing that the eye clinic usually has departments that test for the spectacle prescription, display the spectacle frames and fit the lenses into frames.

Dr. Oben-Nyarko who is the Chief Executive Officer of Third Eye Care and Vision Center stated that eyeglasses are used for the correction of several conditions including doubling of vision and latent and manifest deviations of the eyes, therefore, acquiring it from the wayside could rather endanger your eyes.

“Spectacles are visual aids usually used to enhance the quality of vision and protect the eyes from exposure to direct contact to several environmental factors which could be detrimental to the eyes of the individual.

“You will find street vendors and pharmacies vending spectacles. However, these outfits do not have the required professionals and training necessary for dispensing spectacles so it is improper to select such places as the place of choice for acquiring spectacles,” he warned.

Dr. Oben-Nyarko explained that to acquire a spectacle, one must go through several tests performed by the optometrist for a prescription to be arrived at.

“A proper eye examination will not only give the spectacle prescription but can also expose other conditions that could be present but showing no symptoms like glaucoma, hypertension, and diabetes,” he said.

Dr. Oben-Nyarko advised the general public that even though these processes may sound cumbersome, it is good to know the needs of a person before prescribing a spectacle yet, it was not ethical to get glasses from street vendors or pharmacies which have unaccredited eye clinics.

Mr. Francis Ameyibor GNA Tema Regional Manager explained that as part of “GNA-GOA: My Eyes! My Vision! “We are combining the forces of our professional calling as Optometric Physicians and Communication Experts to reach out to the public with a well-coordinated message”.

Mr. Ameyibor said the collaboration would serve as a major platform to educate the public on vision health and also serves as a critical stage for the association to reach out to the world.