The EyeSmart™ public awareness campaign empowers Americans to take charge of their eye health. EyeSmart emphasizes the need for Americans to know their risk factors for eye diseases, infections and injuries, and how ophthalmologists can help prevent, diagnose and treat eye conditions. 

The campaign is sponsored by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons - Eye M.D.s. A key partner is EyeCare America, a public service program of the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. In addition, more than 80 state, local and specialty ophthalmology societies are lending their support.

> Learn more about EyeSmart partners

Know Your Risks, Save Your Sight
By the year 2020, the number of eye disease cases will rise from 28 million to 43 million. At the same time, research from the Academy finds that most Americans believe they are not at risk and are woefully unaware of the risk factors for eye disease. There is a similar level of ignorance about risks for eye injuries. Although nearly half of all eye injuries each year occur in the family home, people tend to think the risk of injury is greatest in work or industrial settings, such as factories or construction sites.

EyeSmart works to address and correct such information gaps, by educating the public. The goal is to limit the impact of eye diseases, injuries and infections tomorrow by raising awareness of risk factors today. Efforts include:

• Raising awareness of five major eye diseases, the causes and locations of most eye in — age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, dry eye and glaucoma — and the rise of these diseases among the baby boomer generation. > Find out more about baseline eye disease evaluations at age 40.
• Educating the public about the importance of wearing protective eye wear during a range of risky activities -- from mowing the lawn to playing baseball, to using household cleaners. Protective eye wear can prevent more than 90 percent of serious eye injuries. > Learn how to make your home more EyeSmart.
  
• Providing a forum for the public to get eye-health questions answered by real physicians, either by browsing our growing archive of questions and answers, or by submitting a new question for possible answer by our panel of Eye M.D.s > Browse answers or submit a question.

One of the hardest adjustments anyone can make is adapting to living life with permanent vision loss. Losing your vision affects your ability to work, read, drive, see children grow up and countless other things. That is why maintaining your eye health is a critical component not just of your overall health, but of your daily way of life.

Last reviewed and updated in January 2009,
by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.