Expert warns against use of traditional medications for eye treatment

An eye expert and Focal Person, Eye Health Programme, Delta State Ministry of Health, Dr. Gloria Mok, has said that traditional medication is ruinous to eyes and warned parents and children to desist from applying it to avoid unnecessary eye damage.

Dr. Mok gave the warning at a post-World Sight Day briefing over the weekend in Asaba, the state capital.

With the theme: “Our Parents and Teachers, Love Your Kid’s Eyes,” she said that a lot of students in schools are struggling with visual problems because of the use of traditional medications like sugar and breast milk in their eyes.

According to her, the negative effects of traditional medications are enormous; hence, we are encouraging them not to apply them because when the eyes are damaged, nothing can reverse it.

He said, “Usually, for most organs in the body, from your heart, kidney, and liver, you can have a transplant. But for someone who is blind, you cannot use the eye of someone else who is alive for replacement.

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“This year, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, together with the Federal Ministry of Health, decided that we should focus on children. Last research in 2010 showed that about 10-15 percent of children in Delta State have eye problems.

“The basic eye problem for children is refractive error. They are not seeing things that are far or close. The way to correct these problems generally is to use prescription glasses. Parents should take them to the hospital to access eye care and secure their eyes.

“We are focusing on children and eye care to ensure that every child gets the necessary eye care they need. We are doing three things: walk to sight, screening of school children across the 25 LGAs, and an eye care competition for all the secondary and technical schools in the state.”