Every year 14 October is observed as the global World Sight Day, which aims to raise people’s awareness of eye health and recognize the work done by thousands of ophthalmologists around the world to repair visual impairment. The day is also known as “World Eye Day” or “World Sight Day”. It is an international awareness day that aims to pay attention to and encourage everyone to think about the importance of their own eye health.
History of World Sight Day
In 1917, Melvin Jones founded Lions Clubs International (L.C.I.), a service organization. Lions Clubs International has organized various projects around the world, such as fundraising for typhoons and hurricane victims, diagnosis and management for the hearing impaired, community hearing, and cancer screening projects. One of the famous Lions Clubs International projects is the “SightFirst” program. The campaign began in 1990 to combat blindness caused by trachoma and other causes of blindness. These activities helped more than 488 million visually impaired people.
In the 2000 “SightFirst” campaign, Lions Clubs International and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (I.A.P.B.) declared the second Thursday in October each year as World Sight Day. The main purpose is to draw public attention to the importance of following safety practices to prevent blindness and other vision-related problems. Provided medication kits and financial assistance to those in need. Millions of people all over the world celebrate this day to spread awareness of eye care and to thank the gift of sight, which is a blessing in every sense.
The Theme of World Sight Day 2022
The theme of World Sight Day 2022 is “Love Your Eyes”. This topic emphasizes the need to understand our eye health and take care of our vision. To do this, we must test our eyes and encourage people we know to do the same.
Significance of World Sight Day
Our eyes help us navigate our surroundings and perform every major task in our daily lives. Therefore, the vision has a direct impact on our survival and quality of life. As the IAPB points out on its website, they want the public to work with organizations to urge others, governments, various agencies, and companies to promote eye care services for everyone.
World Sight Day Celebration
Fund Raising
There are still thousands of people who cannot afford the medical expenses needed. Organize a fundraising event and invite your relatives and friends to donate to this noble cause. You will have a huge impact on the lives of many people affected by visual impairments.
Educate people
About 75% of blindness can be prevented. Educate people about health practices, medications, and available treatments. You can work with Lions Clubs International and help promote it.
Have an eye exam
This will be a good time to check your eyes. The doctor will check the condition of your retinal blood vessels and check the overall function of your eyes and vision. Go to the eye clinic nearest you and encourage your family and friends to check their eyes.
Some Very Interesting Facts about Eye
- The six muscles of each eye move faster than any other muscle in the body.
- I heard that your eyes won’t grow up? wrong! In the first two years of your life, your eyes will grow significantly. They reach full size in adulthood.
- The largest eye on land belongs to the ostrich, two inches in diameter. The biggest eye on the sea belongs to the giant squid, about the size of a dinner plate.
- The 7 million cones in the retina bring you a world of vivid colors. 100 million rod cells can help you see clearly in the dark.
- Men are more likely to be color blind than women. This happens when one of the three cones that detect color is missing.
- Your cones have detected red, green, or blue. Your brain combines them to show you rainbow-like colors.
- Newborns’ vision in the first four months will become blurred over time, but when you hold them, they do like to focus on your face (especially your eyes). It takes about four months for a baby to fully see the colors and distant objects.
- Smoke enters your eyes. Smoking and secondhand smoke increase the risk of age-related vision loss. Cataracts tend to develop later in non-smokers.
- At the beginning and end of life, tears are rare. The newborn will not cry for about six weeks. The older you are, the less you shed tears.
- When the lens in your eye focuses the image on your retina, it is upside down. Your brain will reposition and resize the image for you.
- Having two eyes helps depth perception. Your brain calculates the distance by comparing different images of each eye.
- Your eyes capture light like a camera and then send the data back to your brain, where it “develops” the picture.
- Camels have two rows of extra-long eyelashes that protect the eyes from the spinning sand. They also have a thin, transparent film that covers each eye.
- The eyesight of the vulture is four to seven times better than ours. They cannot move their eyes left or right, but they can rotate their head 270 degrees to zero during the next meal.
