Eighty per cent of blindness is treatable and/or preventable and normal vision could be restored with contact lenses or glasses, said an expert.

Dr Tarek Mahmoud, professional marketing manager, Alcon Vision Care ME, was speaking at a workshop themed “How do you see the world?”, which challenged some of the myths associated with contact lenses and highlighted the key role contact lenses play in restoring eye vision by correcting refractive errors.

The workshop also provided attendees with global eye care insights and statistics.

“There are approximately 800 million people worldwide who are blind, severely visually impaired or have near vision sight loss, according to estimates by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness,” said Dr Tarek Mahmoud.

“Of these, 45 million people are blind and 269 million are significantly visually impaired; an additional 517 million people require visual correction for reading and other close up activities.

“145 million people, including more than 12 million children ages 5 to 15, have low vision due to uncorrected refractive errors and in most cases, regular eye exams, glasses or contact lenses could transform the lives of millions of people,” Dr Mahmoud added.

The workshop also introduced Alcon Vision Care and its operations in the region as well as its Air Optix Aqua products with patented TriComfort Technology.

Air Optix Aqua contact lenses help minimizes the rate of contact lens dehydration in a unique way, providing up to five times more oxygen for superior comfort, all day long.

“Alcon’s Air Optix Aqua monthly contact lenses, with TriComfort Technology, resist deposits better than any available two-week or monthly replacement silicone hydrogel lens, contributing to healthy and comfortable lens wear. The high oxygen transmissibility allows up to five times more oxygen through the lens than traditional soft contact lenses, for white healthy looking eyes,” Dr Mahmoud highlighted.

Dr Mahmoud also uncovered some of the myths associated with contact lenses. He revealed that the most common myth is the fear that the lenses could get lost behind the eye.

“This can never happen because a thin - but strong - membrane, called the conjunctiva, lines the inside of your eyelids and curls back on itself to cover the white part of the eye. Lenses cannot pass through it and tend to centre automatically on the cornea,” said Dr Mahmoud.

Dr Mahmoud also stated that one of the common misconceptions is that people can’t sleep with contact lenses.

“Contact lenses have significantly advanced over the years. For example, Alcon’s Air Optix Aqua monthly contact lenses are designed to be worn even while napping and sleeping, the lenses are FDA approved for two types of wearing schedules: daily wear for one month and/or 6 nights extended wear then to continue with daily wear for the rest of the month,” he said. – TradeArabia News Service