Britain must open its eyes to sight loss

As a nation, we approach sight loss as an inevitable consequence of getting older, with a lack of understanding on how avoidable it can be, preventing us from acting and addressing it.

The findings of a new survey – funded by Roche UK and developed with charities the Macular Society and Fight for Sight – reveals that we overwhelmingly fear going blind over losing any other senses, with at least 80% believing blindness would be worse than losing our sense of touch, taste, smell or hearing, yet only a quarter (25%) prioritise regularly seeing their optician, and 51% admit to rarely or never thinking about their eye health. This is despite the fact a large majority (81%) recognise regular check-ups are key to preventing sight loss.

As a result, 42% of the surveyed population expect that, within the next ten years, they may develop visual impairment that cannot be corrected by usual means, such as glasses, and 43% believe this to be true for a member of their family. Meanwhile, a third (32%) accept that sight loss is natural when in your 50s, and 29% when in your 40s.

Ros spoke to Cathy Yelf, CEO at Macular Society.

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