Last year we carried out nearly 10,000 trichiasis surgeries
Treating trichiasis
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| A trichiasis operation is cheap and relatively simple © Suzanne Porter / Sightsavers |
Sightsavers, as part of the Global Elimination of Trachoma by 2020 programme, supports surgery to treat trichiasis, the painful and potentially blinding condition which develops after repeated infections of trachoma.
Sightsavers funds training for nurses to perform surgery for trichiasis in their community. The surgery can be done at a local health clinic or even in the home, meaning that people do not have to travel huge distances to seek treatment. The operation involves removing the parts of the eyelid which are being pulled inwards, causing the lashes to touch the eye, so the eyelids turn back out again.
Treatment of trachoma and trichiasis involves the S&A of the SAFE strategy:
Surgery
- stops the trichiasis from getting worse
- improves vision in the short term
- makes it much more comfortable for people
- reduces the levels of eye discharge
Antibiotics
Sightsavers provides two types of antibiotic to treat trachoma:
- tetracycline - ointment applied directly to the eye over a period of six weeks. Done properly, it has a success rate of 60-80%
- oral azithromycin - this is just as medically effective as tetracycline, but it is taken orally
Just £5 could save one person's sight and stop the pain.
Rosemary Kassim lives in Salima district, Malawi, an area known for an extremely high prevalence of trachoma, and she had spent years suffering from the infection. Read on…
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