Think of eye injury prevention and the usual image is of a guy in a hard hat, a fluro vest and safety goggles. The real picture will surprise you.
According to optometrist Annette Hoskin – who has more than 20 years’ experience in the area of eye protection and eye injury prevention – a large proportion of eye injuries happen at home and on the sporting fields. Young children – and specifically boys aged 12 to 14 – are also at high risk. This knowledge opens up a huge opportunity for eye health professionals; firstly to educate but also to bring safety eyewear out from under the counter and into the centre of your practice.
Still on the myth-busting theme, our lead article this issue tackles one of the taboo topics of the workplace: mental health. There are a lot of misconceptions about mental health and, once again, you’d be surprised by the prevalence of anxiety and depression in society. Mental health issues cost Australian businesses about $10 billion a year in absenteeism, presenteeism (when people are at work, but not fully effective) and compensation claims. In the article, psychologist Rachel Clements gives practical, sensitive advice to confront the topic in the workplace and with your patients.
As an aside, Ms. Clements was one of the key presenters at the recent Super Sunday event, hosted by OA NSW in Sydney. We have a full wrap-up on that event in this issue as well.
There are a lot of misconceptions about mental health and, once again, you’d be surprised by the prevalence of anxiety and depression in society
In our ophthalmology column, we’re privileged to have guest editor Dr. Devinder Chauhan discussing the use of intravitreal anti-VEGF injections for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME).
In this issue of mivision, we also celebrate an Australian success story. Who would have thought a childhood tinkering with salvaged junkyard parts would lead to a career in ophthalmic laser and imaging technology? But that’s what set Adelaide-born Victor Previn on the path that led to the establishment of Ellex, a local company that’s a big player on the international stage.
Our columnists – Alan Saks, Margaret Lam and Michael Jacobs – are back and as insightful as ever. And, of course, we have CPD for you. Flicking through our news pages, you’ll get an idea of just how much CPD is on offer but one of the easiest ways to earn CPD points is with mivision Education. This month, we’re running two education articles. The first, from Dr. John Stokes and Clinical Associate Professor Andrew Chang, looks at adherence and persistence with anti-VEGF treatment for age-related macular generation.
The second, from OA President Kate Gifford, discusses the benefits of taking a proactive approach to managing the progression of myopia. With the incidence of myopia increasing, it is crucial to feel confident about this topic, and the strategies available to you as an eye health professional.
There is some exciting eye fashion news this month, including the latest from the new O-Show, an interesting feature article on Brendel and a review of Silmo Paris.
Oh, and “just” before we go, we “only” want to mention, that in ‘The Last Word’ we’ve set a new office goal; to eliminate minimising words from our daily vocab. Words like “just” and “only”. You up for the challenge?
To paraphrase Nike: …. Do it.
