Another troubling consequence of the bushfire smoke is its effects on our eyes. But there are some steps we can take to minimise irritation and any risk of longer term harms.
Cataracts are a vision problem that can affect anybody as they age. It happens when the lens of the eye gradually loses its transparency.
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Cataracts, which can be experienced by anyone as they age, happen when the lens of the eye gradually becomes less transparent. There are ways, however, to correct this.
Vision is the most important source of information on which driving conduct is based. Poor vision of drivers has been found to be the cause of many accidents.
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When you head out onto the road, there’s always a chance that you might encounter a driver who has a vision problem, putting his or her driving at risk. Regulations need to change.
Trachoma can lead to blindness if left untreated.
Alaine Kathryn Knipes/CDC
Trachoma is the leading cause of preventable blindness.
Climate change and especially variations in the ozone layer have increased the danger from the sun’s harmful rays during the last 25 years. Children are particularly at risk.
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The sun emits harmful rays 365 days a year, even when cloudy or rainy. Children must be protected or they may develop cataracts at an earlier age and run the risk of skin cancer of the eyelids.
A health worker looks on at an Ebola transit centre in Beni in North Kivu province, DRC.
Hugh Kinsella Cunningham/EPA
The only way to prevent a stye is to keep your eyelids clean and free of grime that can block your glands.
Phosphenes are an experience of seeing light without light entering your eye. Bionic eye recipients use these to map out a visual scene.
Eugene Peretz/Flickr
Daniel Oira Kiage, College of Ophthalmology of Eastern Central and Southern Africa
Glaucoma is a slow and silent progressive disease and the second leading cause of blindness, that requires early diagnosis.
We experience lots of changes in our body as we age, and our eyes and ears are no exception. Unfortunately this toys with our senses.
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Glaucoma is the sneak thief of sight, affecting the eyesight of more than 50 million people worldwide. It remains the biggest preventable cause of blindness today.
There are three main types of conjunctivitis depending on the cause.
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Trachoma easily spreads from one child to another through infected eye and nose secretions. A person may have up to 40 episodes of reinfection during childhood.
Melbourne Laureate Professor, Harold Mitchell Chair of Indigenous Eye Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne