World Sight Day is an annual global event held on the second Thursday of October to raise awareness about vision impairment, blindness, and eye health. It's a call to action to address the growing issue of vision loss and promote eye care services worldwide.
In 2024, World Sight Day is on October 10 and the theme is “Look after your eyes, kids”. This theme is about raising awareness of children’s eye care and eye health. Around the world, 450 million children have a sight condition that requires treatment. Sadly, many are unable to access affordable eye care.
In Australia, we are fortunate to have access to eye health providers and support through Medicare for taking care of our children’s eye health needs.
Is it time to take the whole family in for an eye health check?
Optometrist Warehouse managing director Peter Larsen says eye health checks are important for people at all stages of life, but especially for young people.
“Every day up to 30 per cent of our children miss out on social and learning opportunities because of vision issues which, in most cases, can be corrected,” Peter says.
“More recently, the incidence of myopia, or when your distance vision worsens, is dramatically increasing.
“The intense digital world we live in is impacting many of our children's vision, which can also cause serious eye health issues later in life.
“An eye examination with an optometrist can not only pick up myopia but put in place innovative corrective measures to slow or even stop any progression.
“Every Australian child should have their eyes tested.”
Book an eye examination at an Optometrist Warehouse location near you.
