Healthway offers vision screening

MANILA, Philippines - In commemoration of World Glaucoma Week, Healthway Medical, the country’s most preferred mall-based out-patient clinic, is offering free eye screening for cataract and glaucoma on select weekends of March. Interested individuals may register on March 20  Healthway Shangri-La, and March 27  Healthway SM North The Block. 

Healthway will likewise give starter anti-glaucoma medication to selected individuals. This test/screening/medication that Healthway is offering free to its valued clients may cost as much as P5,000 in leading hospitals in Metro Manila.

The eyes, at their most poetic, are said to be the windows into one’s soul. But on the most practical level, our eyes help us find our way in this world. We depend on our sense of sight more than on any of our other senses but sadly, most of us take our vision for granted until we experience signs of eye trouble. And by the time we act on these symptoms, it may already be too late, we may already have cataract or glaucoma.

Cataract and glaucoma are the most common causes of vision loss among individuals worldwide. According to the 2002 World Health Organization data, some 314 million people worldwide are estimated to be living with low vision and blindness.

“Cataract and glaucoma are often thought of as the same disease, but they are not,” says Dr. Carl Chua, an ophthalmologist /glaucoma specialist and cataract surgeon at Healthway Medical. 

Cataract is a clouding that develops in the lens of the eye. “Proteins clump together in a small area which results in blurry vision,” says Dr. Chua. Glaucoma, on the other hand, is an eye condition wherein the optic nerve starts to slowly die. This condition is also known as the “silent thief of sight” because vision loss occurs gradually over a period of time and may lead to irreversible blindness. 

Adds Dr.Chua, “Our eyes normally produces fluid through a network of tissues; glaucoma begins when proper drainage within the eyeball does not take place through these tissues. As long as these tissues do not function correctly, it will increase pressure and impede blood flow in the retina which then kills the optic nerve.”

Cataract sufferers often exhibit symptoms like poor night vision, sensitivity to light and glare, frequent change in eyeglasses or contact lens, and double vision while those who experience glaucoma show signs of headache, eye pain, eye redness, and excessive blinking.

Medical experts advise individuals to have regular eye checkups to facilitate early detection and prevent aggravation of eye diseases. Eye conditions such as glaucoma and cataract can be detected through a comprehensive eye screening.

“We, at Healthway, never stop caring for our valued clients,” says Carmie De Leon, Healthway vice president for sales and marketing. “We always see to it that we give them offers like this to give them a good head start at being conscious of their health conditions.”

For inquiries and information, call 751-HWAY (4929) or visit www.healthway.com.ph.