LASIK and Eye Surgery Blog - Clearview Eye and Laser Medical Center

On January 18, this space wrote about Glaucoma Awareness Month. Now the first-ever World Glaucoma Day has been set for March 6, organized jointly by the World Glaucoma Association and the World Glaucoma Patient Association. You can read their Fact Sheet by using the link at the bottom of this page. There are plans such as:

• Public glaucoma screening campaigns
• Open-door days at glaucoma clinics
• TV and radio spots
• Print media articles

Raising awareness of glaucoma is a good and necessary goal, since it creeps up on a person so quietly. It can be in an advanced stage before the symptoms become obvious, and by then you have lost a lot of your vision permanently.

People at most risk

Everyone is at risk for glaucoma, just by being human. But some groups are more likely to develop some form of it.

• Those with a family history of glaucoma – the risk is increased four to nine times over the general population
• Diabetics – three times more likely than non-diabetics
• People of African descent – three times more likely than other racial groups to develop open angle glaucoma. Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in this group.
• Hispanics – at greater risk, the exact number not yet determined; Hispanics over age 60 have more risk than younger Hispanics
• Those who use steroids – This is a newly-discovered category, resulting from studies done on asthma sufferers. People who use a steroid inhaler at somewhere between 14 and 35 puffs a day have a 40% increase in ocular hypertension and open angle glaucoma. This would be very severe asthma.
• People with eye injuries – An eye injury can cause glaucoma immediately or years later. That's because an injury that bruises or penetrates the eye can damage its drainage system.
• Anyone over age 60 – this group is six times more likely to develop some form of glaucoma

Other risk factors are severe myopia, high blood pressure, and a central corneal thickness of less than 0.5 mm. If you are in any of these risk groups, please do yourself a favor and schedule a glaucoma check today.

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Previous Posts

• Iris Scanning as Identification Technology
• Intacs and Keratoconus
• Intacs and Myopia
• Glaucoma Awareness Month
• IntraLase is Speedy!
• What is Lazy Eye?
• Identifying Your Dominant Eye
• LASIK for Severe Myopia
• Lasers for Surgery: What's the Advantage?
• Floaters: What Are They?