2 min readNigerian Optometric Association, Lagos State ChapterChapter news
Getting ready for World Sight Day 2026
The chapter marks World Sight Day on 8 October with free screening across Lagos. Volunteers and venues are being confirmed now.
Eye health, in plain terms
Articles on eye health and vision for the public, and on practice and the profession for members.
2026
Children, screens and the argument that actually matters
The concern about children and screens is not that the light damages their eyes. It is about what the screen displaces — and the evidence there is strong.
· 3 min read · Children and schools
A scratched eye is not a small thing
Most corneal scratches heal in a day or two. A few become ulcers, and an ulcer on the cornea scars — which is permanent even after the infection clears.
· 3 min read · Eye health
Claiming your listing in the chapter register
The register carried over from the old site is incomplete and in places out of date. Members can now correct their own entry.
· 2 min read · Chapter news
Zonal meetings: how the chapter actually works
August is zonal meeting month. For newer members, an explanation of what the zones are, what happens at a meeting, and why attendance matters.
· 2 min read · Chapter news
Eye care for artisans: welding, grinding and dust
Written for welders, panel beaters, carpenters, masons and mechanics — the trades that supply a disproportionate share of Lagos eye casualties.
· 3 min read · Eye health
Flashes and floaters: which ones matter
Almost everyone has floaters and almost all of them are harmless. A sudden change is a different matter, and it is time-critical.
· 3 min read · Eye health
Conference season, and why continuing education is not optional
The Postgraduate College conference, AFCO and the national conference fall within a fortnight this year. A note on what they are for.
· 2 min read · Chapter news
Contact lenses or spectacles: choosing honestly
Neither is better. They suit different eyes, different prescriptions and different lives — and most people are best served by having both.
· 3 min read · Spectacles and lenses
Eyes and sport: the injuries and the advantage
Sport causes a meaningful share of serious eye injuries, almost all preventable. It also depends on visual skills that ordinary spectacles do not address.
· 3 min read · Eye health
What changes in the eye after sixty
Some of what happens to older eyes is simply ageing. Some is disease easily mistaken for it. Telling them apart is the point.
· 3 min read · Eye health
Vitamin A, nutrition and what food can actually do for your eyes
Vitamin A deficiency is a genuine and serious cause of childhood blindness in Nigeria. Most other nutritional claims about eyesight are considerably weaker.
· 3 min read · Eye health
The remedies that cost people their sight
Herbal preparations, breast milk and borrowed steroid drops turn up regularly in Lagos eye clinics — attached to avoidable damage.
· 3 min read · Eye health
Optometry as a career in Nigeria
For students considering it: what the training involves, what the work is actually like, and where the profession is going.
· 3 min read · The profession
Driving in Lagos, and the vision it requires
Night driving that has become uncomfortable is usually telling you something specific. So is the sense that headlights dazzle more than they used to.
· 3 min read · Eye health
The drops you must not stop
Glaucoma treatment fails more often through drops not being used than through drops not working. Here is why it happens, and what makes it easier.
· 3 min read · Eye health
Eyes in pregnancy: what changes, and what should not be ignored
Most visual changes in pregnancy are harmless and temporary. A few are warning signs that need attention the same day.
· 3 min read · Eye health
Sickle cell and the eye: a Nigerian priority
Nigeria has the world's largest sickle cell population. The retinal complications are silent until they are sudden.
· 3 min read · Eye health
What high blood pressure does to the back of the eye
The retina is the only place blood vessels can be seen directly — which makes an eye examination a window onto hypertension.
· 2 min read · Eye health
Squint: it is not something a child grows out of
An eye that turns needs assessing, not waiting. Beyond a few months of age a squint does not correct itself on its own.
· 3 min read · Children and schools
Red eye: what waits, and what does not
Most red eyes are minor. A few are emergencies, and they are distinguishable. The dividing line is pain and vision.
· 3 min read · Eye health
Reading your spectacle prescription
SPH, CYL, AXIS, ADD, PD. What the numbers on your prescription mean, and which of the extras you are offered are worth paying for.
· 3 min read · Spectacles and lenses
Colour vision deficiency: what it means, and what it does not
About one boy in twelve has some colour vision deficiency. Most manage easily, but some careers require normal colour vision.
· 3 min read · Eye health
The eye that never learned to see
Amblyopia is reduced vision in an eye that is structurally normal. It develops in early childhood, it is silent, and the window for treating it closes.
· 3 min read · Children and schools
Eye injuries at work, and the ten seconds that prevent them
Welders, grinders, carpenters, mechanics and chemical handlers make up a large share of eye emergencies in Lagos. Almost all of these injuries are preventable.
· 3 min read · Eye health
Cataract: common, treatable, and still a leading cause of blindness
Cataract surgery is among the most effective operations in medicine. Cataract is still the leading cause of blindness in Nigeria.
· 3 min read · Eye health
World Glaucoma Week: what a screening finds
What happens at a chapter glaucoma screening, what the results mean, and why a normal pressure reading is not a clean bill of health.
· 3 min read · Chapter news
What an optometrist actually does
Ahead of World Optometry Day, a plain account of the scope of the profession in Nigeria — and of the confusion it is routinely subject to.
· 2 min read · The profession
Dry eye in an air-conditioned city
Gritty, burning, tired eyes that water for no reason. Dry eye is one of the commonest complaints in Lagos practice, and drops are rarely the whole answer.
· 3 min read · Eye health
Why your arms got shorter after forty
Presbyopia is not a disease and it is not your eyes getting weaker from overuse. It is the lens inside the eye losing flexibility, and it happens to everyone.
· 3 min read · Spectacles and lenses
Low vision: when the answer is not a stronger prescription
Sight that cannot be corrected further is not the end of the assessment. Rehabilitation makes the sight that remains do the work you need.
· 3 min read · Living with vision loss
Sunglasses are eye care, not an accessory
Lagos sits close to the equator with high ultraviolet levels all year. Dark lenses without UV protection are worse than no sunglasses at all — here is why.
· 3 min read · Eye health
Contact lenses: the habits that prevent an infection
Contact lenses are safe when handled properly and genuinely dangerous when they are not. The difference is a small number of habits, and one rule about water.
· 3 min read · Spectacles and lenses
A new year eye-health checklist worth actually doing
Six things that make a measurable difference to your eyes, and three widely repeated pieces of advice that do not.
· 3 min read · Eye health
Diabetes and the damage you cannot feel
Diabetic retinopathy causes no pain and no early blurring. That is why screening is annual rather than symptom-driven.
· 3 min read · Eye health
Short-sightedness in Nigerian children, and why it is rising
A child who cannot see the board rarely says so. They move seats, squint, or stop paying attention — and myopia is rising fast.
· 3 min read · Children and schools
2025
How to choose an optometrist in Lagos
Not everyone selling spectacles in Lagos is qualified to examine your eyes. Here is how to tell, and what a proper practice should offer.
· 3 min read · The profession
Screens, strain and what the evidence actually supports
Long hours at a screen leave eyes sore and tired. Much of what is sold as a remedy does not hold up. Here is what the research supports.
· 3 min read · Eye health
Glaucoma: the sight you lose before you notice anything
Glaucoma takes peripheral vision first, and the brain fills in the gap. By the time it is obvious, the damage cannot be undone.
· 3 min read · Eye health
What actually happens in a comprehensive eye examination
Most people expect the letter chart and little else. A full examination checks the health of the eye as well as the sharpness of your sight.
· 3 min read · Eye health
World Optometry Day 2025: NOA Lagos Chapter Conference Set to Transform Eye Care Future
The Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA) Lagos State Chapter proudly announces its 2025 Conference, coinciding with World Optometry Day celebrations. Under the compelling theme "ADVANCING THE…
· 2 min read
2024
Children's Eye Health: Ensuring Bright Futures
Introduction August is Children's Eye Health Month, an initiative by the Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA) to raise awareness about the importance of eye health in children. Good vision is…
· 3 min read
Harmful Effects of UV on the Eyes: A Guide by the Nigerian Optometric Association, Lagos State Chapter
Introduction In Nigeria, where sunny days are abundant, it is essential to be aware of the harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on the eyes. The Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian…
· 2 min read
WAYS UV RAYS CAN HARM YOUR EYES AND THE WAY OUT
The Sun is the number one source of Ultra violet rays on earth, and the eyes absorb up to 99% of UV rays causing significant damages to different layers of the eyes. Some of the likely harm UV can…
· 1 min read
2023
NOA Lagos Chapter at the 46th National Conference/Vision Expo, Members Awarded Fellowship
Members of the Lagos Chapter of the Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA) participated in the 46th 46th National Conference/Vision Expo held in Asaba, the Delta State capital. The theme of the…
· 1 min read
NOA Lagos 2023 - 2nd Quarter General Meeting/Continuing Education Series
The Lagos state executive council of the Nigerian Optometric Association hereby announce the Second Quarter General Meeting/Continuing Education Series. The detail of this event is provided below…
· 1 min read
Common Eye Disorders and Diseases
There are hundreds of different eye diseases and vision problems. Some have no cure, but many others are treatable. You can assist in your own eye health by following a healthy lifestyle and seeing…
· 14 min read
World Optometry Day/NOA Lagos Conference 2023
The NOA, Lagos Chapter executives have announced this year's state conference date. The conference is scheduled to hold as follows: Date: Saturday March 23, 2023 Time: 8:00am - 4:00pm Venue…
· 1 min read