Unprescribed medicated glasses cause harm

Accra, July 27, GNA - An ophthalmologist, Madam Beatrice Ablah Lestu Executive Director of the Bealet Optical Centre on Friday asked Ghanaians to desist from buying medicated glasses on the streets because they had side effects.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra, Madam Letsu said most sellers of those glasses were not only unauthorized but had no requisite training to do so.

She said buyers might not go in for the correct prescription since one had to go through eye examination or screening to detect a refractive error on the eye.

She also noted that eye screening was not as expensive and time consuming as people thought, adding that the cheap medicated glasses from the streets had serious side effects and therefore asked Ghanaians to cultivate the habit of going on regular eye checks for defects to be detected.

However, some sellers of the medicated glasses who spoke to the GNA said they sold to users only on prescription by the ophthalmologists. The sellers also held the view that their work was to complement the efforts of the few optical centres who could not meet the needs of the people who complain about the services of the few opticians.