A simple stock of optical glasses for a catastrophic disaster: Eyewear donations after the 2011 pacific coast Tohoku earthquake

摘要

Following the Tohoku earthquake and the tsunami that struck on March 11, 2011 (Shibahara 2011), more than 85,000 people, many of whom had lost their own houses, were evacuated to shelters, such as public buildings and school facilities, as of May 22, 2011. Those who wore contact lenses were unable to take their reserve sets of contact lenses or glasses, and many of the elderly affected by presbyopia were also unable to take their reading glasses. Many people who wore daily or weekly disposable contact lenses were unable to wash and cleanse their contact lenses for an extended period of time because of the limited access to necessary supplies due to the disaster. For those fortunate to have their optical glasses with them, cases and spectacle wipes were needed to protect their eyewear in the dusty and dirty evacuation facilities. Ophthalmologists who visited the evacuation facilities observed the following: (1) many of the elderly had difficulty reading wall-posted information, public announcements, and newspapers without their reading glasses, and (2) infection and hyper-emia became severe in the eyes of those who wore contact lenses for an extended amount of time without adequate care. The ophthalmologists immediately realized that there were serious ophthalmic and hygienic problems that needed to be solved quickly.