FORT LEE, Va. (March 16, 2017) -- Glaucoma is a disease that can be often treated effectively when diagnosed early. To understand its prevalence, consider the following:
An estimated 80 million people worldwide will have glaucoma by 2020.
It is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide.
Glaucoma is the No. 1 cause of blindness in African-Americans.
The average age of onset is 54 years.
African-Americans are 6-to-8 times more likely to develop glaucoma than other Americans.
Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy characterized by progressive damage to retinal ganglion cells. Or, in plain English, it's a disease in which the little thin wire (optic nerve) that acts as the freeway between an individual's eyes and the visual processing area of the brain slowly and painlessly stops working.
Without treatment, glaucoma can lead to total blindness. The earlier it is diagnosed, the more vision can be preserved.
The good news is it is typically very treatable. The key to treatment and vision preservation is early detection. Unfortunately, glaucoma has virtually no symptoms that would prompt a person to say, "Hey, I think I might be coming down with glaucoma. I better get my eyes checked." Early detection comes from having annual eye exams that screen for a multitude of ocular disorders including glaucoma.
At Eagle Vision Clinic in Kenner Army Health Clinic, the staff takes glaucoma seriously. The clinic has the most up-to-date "early warning" technology available. Every patient seen is screened for glaucoma. Those patients who are at a higher risk because of age, race, family history, high-eye pressure or suspicious looking optic nerves will have their eyes dilated and be evaluated with state-of-the-art instruments. The exam is painless.
If a diagnosis of glaucoma is made, do not fear. The progression of the disease may be slowed or stopped with one or two eye drops of medicine a day and/or surgery.
Dr. Elena Llewellyn is a new optometrist at the Eagle Eye Clinic. She said "glaucoma is a thief of sight. Each day is steals from you precious memories; not of what was, but what is to come."
Take ocular health, vision and glaucoma seriously. If you're a person who has not had an eye exam in the last 12 months and thinks, "Oh, I see fine," remember you can't detect glaucoma. Only an eye care professional can do that.
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