GLAUCOMA CONTINUES ITS ATTACK ON AGE 40+ POPULATION

Many people are not familiar with glaucoma and do not take the proper steps in eye care to facilitate early detection of the disease. In addition, individuals often do not realize risk factors that make them candidates for developing glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness in the United States today.

What is glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases, in which internal pressure in your eyes increases, causing damage to the nerve fibers that make up the optic nerve, the structure responsible for communicating visual information from the eye to the brain. This increased pressure occurs when passages that normally allow fluid in the eyes to drain become blocked or clogged causing damage that results in the progressive loss of peripheral vision, followed by limited central vision and potential blindness.

Who has glaucoma?
Glaucoma occurs in people of all ages. Today, between two and three million American over the age of 40, or about one in every 30 individuals in this age group, have glaucoma. However, at least one half of all those who have the disease are unaware of it.

As a leading cause of blindness, glaucoma accounts for between nine and 12% of all cases of blindness. Today, approximately 100,000 people are blind as a result of glaucoma.

What are the signs of glaucoma?
One devastating aspect of the most common type of glaucoma is that it develops gradually and painlessly. There are few, if any symptoms, allowing the disease to go unnoticed in the early stages.

However, as the disease progresses, many experience loss of peripheral vision and an inability to adjust the eye to darkened rooms.

What are the risk factors for glaucoma?
Although everyone is at risk for glaucoma, some people may be at a higher risk for developing the disease. The elderly, or particularly those above the age of 60, are examples.

Ethnicity is also a risk factor. Glaucoma is four times more common in African Americans than in white Americans. Like many other diseases, glaucoma tends to run in families. Finally, individuals with certain medical disorders, like diabetes or nearsightedness, are also at a higher risk for developing glaucoma.

Can glaucoma be prevented?
Glaucoma is a disease that cannot be prevented or cured, and any sight it destroys cannot be restored. However, if diagnosed and treated in the early stages, it can be controlled. That is why an annual eye examination as the best way for you to detect and control glaucoma.

If your optometrist detects glaucoma, the necessary precautions can be taken to inhibit the progression of the disease. This may include prescription eye drops, medications, laser treatment or surgery to lower the pressure in the eyes. Although there is no cure for glaucoma, studies have shown that the best way to control the disease and protect vision is through early detection and treatment.