Misery in Isiolo as residents go blind due to sunlight

Hamza Hassan is not sure how old she is, but she is not too old to be losing her sight, at least according to the doctor.

The strange phenomenon is that she is blind on her left eye, and the right one is losing sight too. This is the same case as Abdia Nurow, 65, who was found to have poor vision.

Both women were diagnosed with cataract, which is a common phenomenon in older persons above the age of 50.

However, in the county of Isiolo, specialists have revealed that old age is not the only reason why people are going blind in the area.

“It is long exposure to the sun,” said Dr Faraj Alkizim.

Isiolo, being partly a pastoralist community herding goats and camels, just like other parts of North Eastern, many communities would spend days locating pasture for their animals.

Considering the area rarely gets rains as the weather is always sunny, people living in the area are exposed to sun for more hours.

This exposure, explained Dr Faraj, turns the lenses of their eyes senile, which makes them lose their natural ability.

“The sun has ultra violet rays which if exposed for a long time, it is basically radiation,” said Faraj. This radiation is what causes the lenses of the eye to be appear cloudy and hence cannot allow light to pass through.

The sun, Faraj said literary eats up the lens which is made of protein until it loses is strength: “The longer the exposure to the sun then, the higher the chances of having cataract, and this is why 98 per cent of cataract cases are among the old.”

In Kenya, among the 220,000 persons who are blind according to 2016 data by the Ministry of Health, at least 86, 300 are as a result of cataracts.

“The good thing with cataract is that it is reversible. One just needs surgery to have a new pair of artificial lens and it will have their sight restored,” said Dr Agnes Maiyo, during a free medical camp by Turkish government.

The operation takes about 15 minutes, after which the patient is reviewed the following day and given antibiotics to fight any infection.

“The challenge is such an operation costs up to Sh150,000 yet cataract affects mostly pastoral communities who are poor, or might have no knowledge on why they are going blind,” said Maiyo.