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January 2016 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
January is Glaucoma
Awareness Month
Disease is second leading
cause of blindness in the
United States
By Jamie Lober, Staff Writer
According to the American
Optometric Association (www.aoa.
org), glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the United
States, most often occurring in people
over age 40.
“Glaucoma is a disease typically
of high intraocular pressure,” said Dr.
Sheila Sanders, director of glaucoma
services at the University of Kentucky
Department of Ophthalmology and
Visual Sciences. “In time it will cause
nerve damage, which can create blind
spots in the vision.”
The trouble with glaucoma is that
many people may be unaware they
have the condition. “It is usually silent
because most people cannot tell their
pressures are elevated,” said Saunders.
“It happens so gradually that you do
not feel different, but you can have
damage.”
Not everyone with high eye pressure will develop glaucoma, and there
are people with normal eye pressure
who develop glaucoma. This is why
it is important to visit an eye doctor
regularly to have your vision evaluated.
“Glaucoma typically happens in
the peripheral vision,” said Saunders.
“People will think they can see fine,
drive fine and read fine print, but they
are losing vision on the side and do
not realize it until it is advanced.”
The Glaucoma Research
Foundation (www.glaucoma.org)
says 90 percent of glaucoma cases are
open-angle glaucoma, also known
as primary or chronic glaucoma, in
which the patient has a wide and
open angle between the iris and cornea. Acute or narrow-angle glaucoma
happens when the angle between the
iris and cornea closes. The foundation urges people to get their eyes
checked every two to four years if
they are under age 40. Those above
age 65 should have an eye examination every six to 12 months.
Some people are more susceptible to glaucoma than others. “The
people at higher risk are people who
are African American over the age of
40 and Caucasians who are