World Glaucoma Week is a worldwide goal of the World Glaucoma Association in order to build awareness on glaucoma.
The 2021 theme highlights the hope that with a regular checkup, people resume seeing the world around them, full of beauty, enchantment, and adventure. The world is bright, save your sight!. The goal of this week is to alert everyone to have regular eye (and optic nerve) check-ups to detect glaucoma as early as possible.
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of constant blindness, but with early treatment, the damage may get confined and sight may be saved.
It is reported that while anyone has about 2.4% lifetime risk of glaucoma, first-degree relatives (FDRs) of glaucoma patients have a ten-fold increase in the risk of glaucoma. So, making FDRs aware of the need for glaucoma by glaucoma investigations including examination of the optic nerve may save blindness in a large number of people.
Glaucoma is a phrase used to define a collection of diseases of the eye. Identified by increasing and irreversible damage to the optic nerve and which, if untreated, may lead to blindness. One of the important factors is an increase in pressure of the eye. But people with normal eye pressure can also develop glaucoma. According to World Health Organisation, there are various types of glaucoma. However, the two most common are, primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), having a quiet and insidious onset, and angle-closure glaucoma, which is common and points to be more severe.
Glaucoma is the second most general cause of blindness worldwide. WHO has estimated that 4.4 million people are blind due to glaucoma. Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness with at least 11 million people affected and nearly 1.3 million people blind from the disease in India. More than 91 percent of cases of glaucoma remain undiagnosed in the community. Glaucoma prevalence increases with age.
Limited is known about the prevention of glaucoma, nevertheless, early diagnosis and treatment is the most reliable way to prevent vision loss from glaucoma.
Risk Factors:
~ Having high internal eye pressure
~ Age above 55
~ Family History
~ Having specific medical conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure.
~ Having certain eye conditions, such as myopia
~ Had certain types of eye surgery
~ Taking corticosteroid medications, mainly eyedrops, for a lengthy time
The world is bright, save your sight!