Rare Retinal Disease
Debate between Shockat Adam and Edward Argar(4 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Shockat Adam
The right hon. Member should not feel bad, as that is the most common reason for eye trauma—gardening is the most dangerous sport for eye health. I have met people who lost their sight from a branch scratching their cornea.
Edward Argar
In which case, I remain very grateful to the clinicians at the Leicester royal infirmary. The hon. Member will be pleased to know that my wife shares his view about the dangers of gardening, particularly when I am doing it.
As right hon. and hon. Members can see, I am increasingly reliant on my reading glasses and my regular eye tests at Specsavers—other opticians are available. As the hon. Member for Strangford said, that is a reminder of the importance of the issue. A regular eye test not only can detect optical and retinal illnesses earlier, but can potentially spot other more serious conditions that are not directly related to eye health, but of very great significance.
Edward Argar
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. He and I have known each other since we came to this House, and he has read my mind, because I was about to say that there are examples of life-threatening tumours being detected through a regular eye test and a referral onwards, which has saved people’s lives. As he set out, an estimated 25,000 or so people in the UK are affected by inherited retinal diseases. As the hon. Member for Leicester South said, the most common, which I will mispronounce, is retinitis—
Edward Argar
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. As a professional optometrist, I am sure his bill will be in the post. Inherited retinal diseases can lead to a gradual loss of vision and can have potentially devastating effects.