Making a Move

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Making a Move

• Eye health and vision care
• Developed by the Vision Initiative, an eye health
  program funded by the Victorian Department of
  Health and managed by Vision 2020 Australia

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Outline for today

• The Vision Initiative
• Eye health in Australia
• Common eye conditions
• Whos who and how to access services
• The Victorian Eyecare Scheme
• Vision and falls prevention

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The Vision Initiative

• Funded by the Victorian Department of Health
• Commenced in 2002
• Aims to raise awareness of eye health and vision
  care to the general community and to health care
  professionals
• Works in partnership with the falls prevention
  unit of the Victorian Government to provide eye
  health information
• Key message Save Your Sight Get Tested
• For more information visit
• www.visioninitiative.org.au

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Save Your Sight Get Tested

• Seventy five per cent of vision loss preventable
  or treatable
• This increases to 95 per cent in indigenous
  communities
• If you are over 40 get tested
• If you have noticed any vision changes - get
  tested
• If you have a family history of eye problems
  get tested.

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Eye health in Australia (2004)
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Common eye conditions

• Eighty per cent of vision loss is caused by five
  main conditions (listed alphabetically)
• Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
• cataract
• diabetic retinopathy
• glaucoma
• under and uncorrected refractive error.

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The Eye A Camera
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Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

• This is a degenerating condition of the macular.
• The macula is an area on the retina that is
  responsible for central detailed vision.
• Early signs of macular degeneration include
  distorted central vision.
• Ten per cent of people with (AMD) can receive
  treatment that aims to slow the progress of the
  disease.

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Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

• Reduce the risk of developing AMD by
• stopping smoking
• maintaining a healthy diet
• having regular eye tests.
• Save Your Sight Get Tested.

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Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

• Normal eye

• AMD

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Cataracts

• A clouding of the lens inside the eye.
• Normal part of the eye ageing.
• Other risk factors are diabetes, smoking,
  exposure to sunlight and corticosteroid use.
• Symptoms include
• gradual dulling of vision
• new glasses not helping
• glare problems.

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Cataracts
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Cataract treatment

• Cataracts can be successfully treated with
  surgery.
• Cataract surgery is normally day surgery.
• The cloudy lens is removed and a replacement
  clear intraocular lens is inserted into the eye.

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Diabetic retinopathy

• Complication of diabetes.
• Disease of the small blood vessels at the back of
  the eye (retina).
• After 20 years of having diabetes most people
  with diabetes will have some eye changes.
• Ninety eight per cent of vision loss can be
  avoided with timely diagnosis and treatment.
• Other eye conditions such as glaucoma and
  cataract are more likely in people with diabetes.

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Diabetic retinopathy

• Have an eye test at least annually or as advised
  by your eye specialist.
• Control your diabetes by maintaining healthy
• blood sugar
• blood pressure
• cholesterol.
• See your doctor regularly to avoid irreversible
  damage from diabetic retinopathy.
• Save Your Sight Get Tested.

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Diabetic retinopathy

• Diabetic retinopathy can often be treated with
  laser.
• The timing of the treatment is critical and will
  be determined by your ophthalmologist (eye
  doctor).
• Often this is needed before vision is noticeably
  lost.
• In advanced disease, surgery or injections into
  the eye may help prevent further vision loss.

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Vision with diabetic retinopathy

• Normal eye
• Diabetic retinopathy

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Glaucoma

• Glaucoma is a progressive disease of the optic
  nerve, it is related to pressure inside the eye.
• Often no symptoms until advanced stages.
• Fifty per cent of people with glaucoma do not
  know that they have it.
• Vision lost cannot be regained, but further loss
  can be controlled in many cases.

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Glaucoma

• Regular eye examinations with an eye health
  professional is the best way to detected
  glaucoma.
• Save Your Sight Get Tested.
• If you have a family history of glaucoma you are
  at higher risk of the disease.
• People who suffer from migraine, sleep apnoea,
  have used steroids or have high refractive error
  are at risk of glaucoma.
• Once diagnosed regular follow up with your eye
  health professional is essential.

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Glaucoma

• Treatment for glaucoma aims to reduce the
  pressure in the eye.
• This can be achieved by
• using drops
• laser treatment
• surgery
• a combination of all of the above.
• Regular monitoring of this condition is essential
  for good results.

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Vision with glaucoma

• Normal eye
• Eye with glaucoma

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Under-corrected and uncorrected refractive error

• This is a major cause of poor vision.
• It is correctable with glasses, contact lenses or
  refractive laser surgery.
• It is a disorder not a disease.
• Shortsighted, longsighted, astigmatism and
  presbyopia are terms used to describe refractive
  error.
• Regular eye tests and appropriate correction will
  prevent vision problems caused by this condition.

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Vision with under-corrected or uncorrected
refractive error

• Normal vision Vision with refractive error

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Whos who and how to access services

• Optometrist primary eye care provider, no
  referral necessary and little or no waiting time
  for an appointment.
• Most optometry visits are fully covered by
  Medicare.
• For more information visit
• www.optometrists.asn.au
• Ophthalmologist - specialist eye doctor, referral
  needed from doctor or optometrist.
• Some of the fees are covered by Medicare.
• For more information visit
• www.ranzco.edu

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Checking inside the eye
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Australian College of Optometry (ACO) Carlton

• Glasses start from around 33.50 for single
  vision reading or distance glasses and 47.00 for
  bifocals.
• Metropolitan locations
• Carlton, Broadmeadows, East Preston, Braybrook,
  Frankston and Doveton.
• The ACO also has an Outreach Program (aged care
  facilities, SRS supported residential services,
  disability facilities).
• The Victorian Aboriginal Health Service operates
  at Fitzroy.
• Participating VES private practitioners in
  country areas are listed at
  www.vco.org.au/vco.docs/VESdir.pdf
• And many optometrists in private practice offer
  generous pensioner discounts and budget package
  glasses at an affordable cost.

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Glasses and falls - prevention

• Be careful with new glasses to avoid falling.
• New glasses can take a while to get used to.
• People may feel unsteady at first so gradually
  build up wearing time, and wear in familiar
  environments (indoors at first).
• Transition lenses (change colour in the sun) take
  time to adjust to less light when indoors. Try
  taking Transition glasses off for a few minutes,
  or put a chair beside the door to sit while the
  lenses adjust back to clear.

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Bifocals and multifocals falls prevention

• Bifocals and multifocal glasses can cause blur if
  looking through the wrong area of the lens.
• This can cause difficulty going down stairs. Try
  to move your head and look through the top part
  of the glasses.
• Multifocals have a clear zone in the middle of
  the lens, but not at the edges. You will adapt
  more easily by moving your head to always look
  through the center of the glasses.

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Protect your eyes
Safety goggles
Sunglasses
Sun hats
Hats
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Vision and falls prevention

• Vision disorders account for approximately three
  per cent of the burden of disease.
• People with a vision impairment have
• twice as many falls
• three times the risk of depression and
• an eight fold increase in the risk of hip
  fractures.
• Take care of your eyesight and stop unnecessary
  falls.
• Save Your Sight Get Tested.

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Vision is precious!
To find out more visit www.visioninitiative.org.a
u For further information contact Robyn
Wallace Vision Initiative Program
manager rwallace_at_vision2020austrlaia.org.au
The Vision Initiative would like to acknowledge
the Optometrists Association Australia for the
development of this presentation. Vision 2020
Australia would like to acknowledge the Victorian
Department of Health for funding the Vision
Initiative.