Ophthalmology

Clinical Guidelines For Eye Care

In Kenya eye diseases are ranked eight among the top 10 causes of morbidity.Blindness prevalence is estimated at 0.7%. At the current population this translates to about 224,000 people being blind, with close to 672,000 suffering from low vision. Eighty per cent of the causes of blindness are either curable or preventable through primary eye care (MOH, 2004).

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW

1. Always check the vision for all patients using Snellen’s chart.
2. Take good eye history.
3. Do eye examination using a torch.

WHAT TO BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT

1. Never use steroid containing medicines on the eye without a prescription from an  eye specialist.
2. Never put any medicines on any eye that may have been perforated.
3. Never use atropine drops or ointment without a prescription from an eye specialist.
4. Never use eye medicines in the eye.