Stay away from home remedies, urges ministry

Nadira Gunatilleke

The Health Ministry yesterday warned the public not to rely on home remedies for eye ailments.

A ministry spokesman said home remedies can cause permanent damage to a person’s eyes.

He said Colombo National Eye Hospital specialists conducted over 350 cataract surgeries for residents of Mullaitivu during the weekend under the Vision 2020 programme where they found over 90 percent of persons had been affected by cataract due to old age.

“Around five percent had cataract due to untreated eye injuries,” the spokesman said. He said the patients got cataract due to untreated eye injuries they received while cutting fire wood.

They did not have knowledge of first aid and basic treatment for eye injuries. Some had received ‘treatment’ from goda weda. Such treatments cause more serious and permanent damage to injured eyes, he said.

Eye care facilities were provided to the Mullaitivu Hospital recently.

The first cataract surgery was performed at this unit last week with the participation of Health Ministry acting Secretary Dr Palitha Mahipala and eye specialists from the Colombo National Eye Hospital.

Cataract surgeries have been performed on over 20,000 patients under the Vision 2020 programme. The programme also provides free spectacles for needy schoolchildren.