“Retina Day” was certified on the anniversary in Japan
The purpose of “retina day” is to (1) deepen the people’s understanding of various retinal diseases including retinitis pigmentosa, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, retinal vein occlusion, retinal detachment , and (2) to make them think about creating a society where ordinary citizens can live with people who have retinal diseases.
“Retina Day” is a national anniversary that is enacted in 2017 and approved by the Japan Anniversary Association to achieve the above two objectives.
The certificate award ceremony will be held on Saturday, September 30, 2017 at “World Retina Day in Miyagi” (venue: Sendai City Welfare Plaza) organized by JRPS. After that, JRPS will develop activities across the country to promote the “Retina Day”.
Why September 23 ?
“Brightness” is very important for people with retinal diseases. As night gets longer, walking time becomes shorter and shorter. Sometimes, you can’t go to work. When the retina is affected by illness, bright daytime length adds to it’s importance.
For that reason, we requested this day of Autumnal Equinox Day as the “Retina Day”.
Symptoms of diseases of the retina and its effect on daily living
In the back of our eyes there is a membrane called ‘retina’ that senses the light. When the retina is affected, such symptoms appear as the thing looks distorted, the center of the visual field turns to black and cloudy, and the eyes become blurred. Also, we feel difficulty to see in a dark place or the field of vision becomes narrow, which hinders our daily life.
However, even if you have a disease of the retina, it is hard to understand from the surrounding people, so you may not get enough understanding or receive outrageous discrimination.
To live with people who have retinal diseases
The “white cane” possessed by blind people is not only held by those who can’t see at all. The “way of seeing” and the degree of disease progression of people with retinal diseases vary from person to person. People who are sick of the retina can actually see as much as a hole of a five-yen coin or things look distorted. Even though they can see smartphones, they can’t safely walk without a white cane.
However, those who do not know such things, tend to think them to be “pretending to be invisible though they can see”, and often criticized people with low vision, unfairly. That is why we need to promote people’s understanding of the retinal illness and to make them think about what they can do to live with people who have sickness as a result of the “day of retina”.
Japanese Retinitis Pigmentosa Society
Public Interest Incorporated Association
We are working toward establishment of treatment for “retinitis pigmentosa” and related diseases designated as one of the specific diseases of the country (intractable diseases) and improvement of QOL (quality of life) of patients.
For inquiries: Public benefit organization Japan Retinitis pigmentosa Society (JRPS)”retina day” secretariat Phone:+81- 03-5753-5156
E-mail: info@jrps.org
