An Analytical Study on Visual Handicap in Patients Attending Ophthalmology OPD: A Hospital Based Study in Mathura

ABSTRACT

Background: India requires 40,000 optometrists, it has only 8,000. Besides this, we needs 2.5 lakh donated eyes every year, the country’s 109 eye banks manage to collect a maximum of just 25,000 eyes, out of which 30% can’t be used. It is reported that India has 12,000 ophthalmologists who have no time to conduct blindness-preventing surgeries as they are flooded with general eye check-up of patients. Methods: This study conducted in the Department of Ophthalmology in the K M Medical College & Hospital, Mathura. The duration of study was over a period of one year Result: In this study we revealed that the visually disabled retinitis pigmentosa accounted for (16%), congenital anomalies which included microcornea, microphthalmos, anophthalmos, and coloboma of eye (15.3%), refractive errors (11.6%),age related macular degeneration(10%), corneal opacity(9.6%), uveitis(8.6%), glaucoma(6.6%), optic atrophy(6%), lens(congenital cataract and complicated cataract) (5.3%), diabetic retinopathy(5%). Conclusion: This study was revealed that there is no proper treatment available for the most common causes of blindness, only preventive measures can be undertaken.