Listen to Story Corneal blindness, a leading cause of vision impairment in India, is seeing an alarming increase, with an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 new cases emerging annually. Corneal blindness is vision loss due to damage or scarring of the cornea, the eye's transparent outer layer. It can happen because of infections, injuries, and deficiencies like vitamin A .
It progresses without timely treatment, often leading to irreversible blindness, especially in underserved areas with limited eye care resources and donor corneas. Experts have raised this significant burden in rural areas, where access to quality eye care remains limited. According to Dr Smit Bavaria, a cataract surgeon at Dr.
Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, Mumbai, corneal blindness accounts for about 7.5% of India's total blindness burden, with rural regions disproportionately affected. "The causes have shifted from infectious diseases like keratitis to eye trauma and complications, but the impact remains substantial, particularly in underserved areas," Dr Bavaria explained.
Corneal blindness progresses without timely treatment, often leading to irreversible blindness. (Photo: Getty Images) Keratitis, he noted, can escalate from mild irritation and redness to severe corneal scarring and vision loss if untreated. Dr Preethi Naveen, Senior Cornea and Refractive Surgeon at Dr.
Agarwal’s Eye Bank in Chennai, highlighted the scale of the issue. "Corneal blindness affects approximately 1.2 million people in India.
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