Save Your Vision Week, 1998

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7068 of February 26, 1998

Save Your Vision Week, 1998

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

The ability to see is a great treasure; but, as with
any precious possession, it is vulnerable to loss--
through injury, age, or disease. Men and women whose
jobs require them to work with chemicals or machinery
are at increased risk of eye injury. Macular
degeneration takes a dramatic toll on the vision of
people aged 60 and over, causing severe visual
impairment and even blindness in its victims. Diseases
such as glaucoma, cataract, and diabetic retinopathy
can silently steal the vision of their victims without
pain or other early symptoms to signal the need for
immediate medical attention.

The greatest defense we have in protecting our eyesight
is early detection and treatment. While many Americans
receive regular physical examinations to ensure their
overall fitness, they often ignore the health of their
eyes. Yet, by the time many patients realize their
eyesight is deteriorating, it is often too late to
restore vision already lost. Even though they may not
be experiencing vision problems, Americans should make
a dilated eye examination part of their preventive
health care routine. A dilated eye exam can reveal
early signs of eye disease and make it possible to
treat the affliction and preserve vision.

Good eye care is not solely for those who know they are
at high risk for eye disease--it is for everyone.
Certain types of eye disease tend to develop primarily
in children, while others manifest themselves most
often in working-age adults or older men and women. By
taking good care of our eyes, we can take the important
steps to maintain our quality of life and ensure the
full enjoyment of all that our world has to offer.

To remind Americans of the importance of protecting
their eyesight, the Congress, by joint resolution
approved December 30, 1963 (77 Stat. 629; 36 U.S.C.
169a), has authorized and requested the President to
proclaim the first week in March of each year as ``Save
Your Vision Week.''

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim March 1
through March 7, 1998, as Save Your Vision Week. I urge
all Americans to participate by making eye care and eye
safety an important part of their lives and to ensure
that dilated eye examinations are included in their
regular health maintenance programs. I invite eye care
professionals, the media, and all public and private
organizations dedicated to preserving eyesight to join
in activities that will raise awareness of the measures
we can take to protect and sustain our vision.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-second.