Campaign to donate reading glasses for every purchased pair

Eye Care Awareness Month aims to raise awareness about the importance of eye health, specifically around the prevention and treatment of avoidable blindness. 75% of blindness is avoidable either through prevention or through treatment.

"Early detection is key to effective treatment. It is important to get regular eye exams from the age of 60, which can pick up any eye problems before they become too severe, such as macular degeneration, glaucoma or cataracts," says Clicks Pharmacist Waheed Abdurahman.

With age, you lose the ability to focus, become more sensitive to glare and have trouble adapting to different levels of light. He recommends the following top tips to improve your eye health:

• Eat for your eyes: a healthy diet including colourful veggies brimming with vitamins such as beta-carotene - found in broccoli, butternut, mangoes and carrots - converts into vitamin A.
  
• Smoking can lead to eye diseases because of reduced blood flow to the eyes, which also absorb toxic substances from cigarette smoke. Quit today!
  
• Wear sunglasses where required.
  
• Go for regular eye check-ups.