Highlights
- 47% of Romanians who wear some form of vision correction say they still can’t see well
- Only a quarter of Romanians know the symptoms of severe eye disorders such as glaucoma or cataract
- 73% of Romanians are unaware of the success rate of laser surgery for diopter reduction
2022 already marks 2 years since most domains have moved online due to the pandemic context. In other words, “work from home” and online education have become the new means of eye strain, not to mention the usual entertainment activities that were already present in everyone’s lives.
A study by the Association of Ophthalmologists shows that online schooling has increased the amount of time children already spend in front of screens by up to 20 times. They also find that half of the world’s population could end up suffering from myopia by 2050. In other words, about 5 billion people will have vision problems in the next 30 years.
This study aims to analyze the level of information of Romanians regarding ophthalmology. To begin with, we wanted to find out how many people wear some form of vision correction. The answers show that most Romanians wear: 51% – glasses and 6% – contact lenses.
Moreover, the data show that more than half of Romanians (52%) do not usually go for preventive check-ups: 29% only consider going for a check-up when they already see worse and 14% make an appointment to see a doctor when various symptoms appear (headaches, dry eyes, nausea). As many as 9% say they have never been to the doctor.
47% of those who wear some form of vision correction say they cannot see well
Failure to recognize symptoms, eye check-ups carried out too rarely or too late, reluctance to see a specialist and postponement of treatments and interventions have various causes, lack of information being one of them. This has a strong, long-term negative impact.
Prevention starts at an early age. Experts recommend that a child should see an ophthalmologist at least once, until the age of 3. Adults should also go for preventive ophthalmological check-ups. That way, if any health problems occur, they can be detected and treated early, before eye health worsens.
However, the responses show that adults do not pay enough attention to preventive check-ups, with 43% of Romanians saying they have not been for a check-up in the last year. Even more worrying is the fact that 10% of respondents who say they should wear glasses, do not.
A study by Comparitech looked at the average time spent in front of screens. The data shows that the average Romanian spends is 7h9m. Despite these figures, only 14% of Romanians say they wear computer glasses.
Moreover, 47% of those who still wear some form of vision correction cannot see well, a sign that the glasses or lenses chosen are no longer suitable. 73% of them do not even go for regular check-ups with their ophthalmologist, which could cause their diopters to increase and deteriorate the quality of their vision.
Only a quarter of Romanians know the symptoms of severe eye diseases such as glaucoma or cataract
Observing symptoms is essential to prevent and treat vision problems early. The symptoms most recognized by Romanians are blurred vision (79%), sensitivity to light (61%), double vision (50%) and frequent tearing (51%).
In the case of severe disorders, data show that Romanians are not familiar with the symptoms of severe ophthalmological disorders. Tunnel vision, which is a symptom of cataract, is reported by only 23% of respondents as a symptom of an ophthalmological disorder. Cataract is also manifested by seeing halos around bright spots, and these are considered by only 25% of Romanians as a symptom of a severe ophthalmological disorder.
Eye twitching can be caused by primary glaucoma and only 24% of Romanians associate it with a vision problem. Moreover, another symptom that can be associated with more than one ophthalmological disorder is nausea, and this is identified as such by only 14% of respondents.
Informing the population about ophthalmological problems and methods of prevention and treatment are essential, especially after the age of 40.
“After the age of 40, ophthalmological check-ups are very important. After this age, presbyopia appears and other more severe ophthalmological disorders can also be detected, such as glaucoma, cataract (which occur in 70% of people over 60), or even degenerative disorders such as retinopathy or macular degeneration. Of these, cataract is the only one that can be treated and cured by surgery. This would be the “fortunate” case, so to speak. The others are disorders that have a progressive component and, if left untreated, can lead to irreversible loss of vision. Early diagnosis of these disorders is essential. Treatment options are often limited by the progression of the disease.”
Dr. Holhoș Teodor, ophthalmic surgeon
3 quarters of Romanians do not know that the success rate of laser surgery to reduce diopters is over 90%.
The main reasons why people postpone or avoid laser procedures for diopter reduction are: the price is too high (71%), lack of confidence in the technology in Romania (31%) and fear of severe subsequent complications (28%). Moreover, 14% say they do not have the time needed for hospitalization and recovery.
The data obtained from the questionnaire show that Romanians are not aware of the performance of the available technology, the duration of the interventions and the recovery period, which influence them to postpone these interventions.
According to the results, 79% of Romanians believe that a day or more of hospitalization is needed, the truth being that diopters reduction with laser surgery is performed on an outpatient basis. Moreover, with advanced technologies such as SMILE PRO, such an operation takes only 7 seconds/eye, and this is known by only 3% of Romanians.
The recovery period is also seen as an impediment by people who need laser surgery. 43% of survey respondents believe that daily activities can only be resumed one week after surgery, and 20% believe that only after one month. In fact, patients can resume their routine after about 24-72 hours after surgery, again thanks to developments and innovation in ophthalmic technology.
Romanians are also unaware of the success of these operations. Laser diopter reduction has a success rate of more than 90%, a fact known by only 27% of respondents to the survey.
Methodology
In this study, the Dr. Holhoș ophthalmology network analyzed the level of information of Romanians regarding ophthalmology: prevention, symptoms, diseases, treatments and technologies currently on the market. To do this, a questionnaire was created and the 300 answers obtained were analyzed against real data, verified by specialists in the field.