Don't Overlook Eye Care

If you're like many Americans, when it comes to your regular healthcare regimen, your eyes get overlooked. In fact, you may only pay attention to your eye health when something goes wrong. Actually, preventive and routine eye care should be a top priority.

Clear vision is a crucial tool in experiencing life to its fullest potential, but according to the Essilor Vision Foundation, an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide see poorly and don't possess adequate access to vision correction.

From an economic perspective, the Vision Impact Institute (VII) estimates as much as $745 million in productivity is lost every single day as a result of uncorrected vision problems in 33 percent of the world's working population.

Extensive social consequences are also a risk. According to the VII, some 30 percent of the world's children experience vision problems that have a significant impact on their long-term health, school performance and emotional/ social development.

Beyond the economic and social consequences, ignoring eye health can also have disastrous outcomes in other areas. For example, elderly individuals with poor vision are seven times more at risk for falls and hip fractures, and poor sight is linked to 59 percent of road accidents.