 Namaskar! I am Dr. Vanuli Bajpe, Consultant Department of Ophthalmology, Manipal Hospital Dwarka and Goyal Eye Institute Patelnagar. Today, on the occasion of prevention of blindness week, I will be talking about certain eye ailments which are common, treatable and preventable. One percent of India's population today is blind and most of these people suffer from diseases which are treatable or could have been prevented if detected in time. The most common cause of blindness in India today is and has been for many decades cataract. Cataract is an opacification in the normal crystalline lens of the eye. This lens is clear to begin with but with increasing age certain diseases and certain medications begins to opacify. Then this condition leads to symptoms of glare in the sunlight or in the night, decreased vision, blurred vision, halos around light and sometimes total blindness. The treatment for cataract is surgery. There is no medical treatment available. The surgery is done on a daycare basis and the patient is discharged on the same day. Anesthesia for surgery is given in the form of eye drops to the eye or injection around the eyes. During surgery the opaque lens or cataract is removed and a new foldable lens is placed inside the eye. This lens lasts throughout the natural life of the patient. So if you or any of your family members are suffering from the above symptoms, please go and check with your eye surgeon to look for the presence of any cataract. Another common cause of impairment of vision is refractive errors. Refractive errors is the requirement of glasses to see clearly. It could either be near sightedness or myopia or phycitedness or hypermetropia. The presence and detection of refractive errors is especially important in children as the presence of errors in a very young age can lead to improper development of the eyes and the brain. It can lead to disinterest in academics and multitude of eye problems as well. Also in the new normal of increased screen times on the laptops, on smartphones, the presence and correction of refractive errors is all the more important. So it can lead to daily problems like headaches, discomfort in the eyes and can reduce the productivity if working in front of the screens for long hours. So if you are exposed to screens, please get your eyes checked regularly with your eye doctor. Another two more common diseases I would like to talk about in short are glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Glaucoma is a disease of the optic nerve of the eye which is caused many a times by increased pressure inside the eyes. Usually there are no symptoms for glaucoma and the damage which is done is irreversible. So everyone specially who have a history of glaucoma in their family please get your eyes checked regularly to detect for any presence of glaucoma. Diabetic retinopathy as the name suggests is a disease of the retina of the eye which is caused due to diabetes mostly long-standing or uncontrolled diabetes. So if you or any of your family members are diabetic please make sure to get your eyes checked routinely by an ophthalmologist. With this I will end my talk here and I wish you all a safe and healthy year ahead.