Local Eye Site is indirectly involved with Prevent Blindness as I am on the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Division. Today I had the pleasure of working a free vision screening booth at the State Fair in Raleigh for Prevent Blindness. We offered visual acuity checks and a glaucoma check using a visual field machine.
This is the second year that I have participated in this. The thing that strikes me the most is that both years I have been overwhelmed by the amount of traffic that the booth receives. This morning we had 6 people working the booth and we pretty much stayed busy the entire time I was there. I have also noticed that we tend to have more traffic than any of the booths near us.
It’s interesting that many of the people visiting the booth for eye screenings don’t routinely visit an eye doctor, and many can’t remember when they did see one last. However, it’s important enough that such a huge flock stops when they see it’s free and easy. Well, so are the salsa samples across the aisle, but they don’t get the traffic we do. Why is this? It’s because eveyone knows that their site is precious, and they need to have their eyes routinely checked. However, sometimes we have to stumble across a free screening in order to force us to take the time. I’m sure that there are some who can’t afford an eye exam, but we have plenty with health insurance that visit the booth.
Certain eye diseases can be easily identified with simple tests, and the prevention of the progression of these diseases a real possibility. I have to admit that I’m just as guilty of neglecting visits to the eye doctor, but don’t follow my example and take the time to get your eyes checked routinely.
