Survey finds only 15% locals seek regular eye checks

A recent survey has discovered over 85% of respondents do not have regular eye checks.

The survey was jointly conducted by international sight-saving charity organization Orbis International’s office in Macau and the private Kiang Wu Hospital. Valid responses from 1,059 people were collected between Oct. 13 and Nov. 15.

The survey found 63% of the respondents were in the 30-49 years old age group, 19% were in the 18-29 years old age group and 15% were in the 50 years old and above age group.

It aimed to find out about the current situation of the community, their level of understanding about eye floaters, their reactions when encountering specific eye conditions, and the habits of using and protecting their eyes for the use of the private hospital’s eye department.

Besides the finding on the lack of regular eye checks, the survey also discovered more than 30% of respondents believe there is no need to seek medical advice when eye floaters appear.

The lack of regular eye checks will delay people’s understanding of their own eye health, which in turn will delay the commencement of treatment when required.

Orbis International has been working to help prevent eye diseases.

The survey showed respondents would ignore the existence of sudden symptoms such as floaters and did not consider seeking medical assistance critical or necessary, Orbis added.

Approximately 83% of respondents have eye floaters and 69% misunderstood the condition as disease.

Ophthalmologist Fong Sao Nok at the private hospital said eye floaters are actually normal occurrences, generally caused by the degeneration of the vitreous in the eye during the actions of shrinks and liquefies. When light enters the eye, impurities in the vitreous will be projected on the retina, forming the dark shadows referred to as “floaters.”

The survey also discovered over 85% of people with significant short-sightedness have floaters. Fong explained the close relationship between floaters and high myopia. He said  people with high myopia should be more vigilant about their eyes’ changing conditions and new symptoms which could potentially be an indication of an underlying eye disease requiring attention.

Fong said it is vital for the community to become better acquainted with the different symptoms, including eye floaters, which in most cases would not directly lead to a vision crisis, but could, in some cases, be a harbinger of more serious eye conditions that can affect one’s vision.