If you think glaucoma is a disease of old age, that it primarily strikes people with diabetes, or that you´re safe if you have 20/20 vision - think again!
`These are myths about glaucoma - the leading cause of preventable blindness,´ warns
Robert Ritch, M.D., Medical Director of The Glaucoma Foundation. `The sad fact is that too many people are in danger of losing vision because they think they´re not at risk,´ he says. `The tragedy is that 90 percent of the more than 80,000 Americans who are blind as a result of glaucoma did not have to lose their sight!"
if you have 20/20 vision - think again!
Glaucoma can affect anyone from newborn babies to senior citizens. In fact, at least three million people in the United States have glaucoma and half of them don´t even know they have it. The disease is called `the sneak thief of sight´ because it usually has no warning symptoms. But a simple, painless eye examination can detect the disease. And with early detection and continuing treatment, glaucoma usually can be controlled and blindness prevented.
The Glaucoma Foundation urges everyone to schedule a routine eye examination for glaucoma with an eye care professional. The painless test should check the fluid pressure in your eyes, determine how well you see at various distances,
dilate your
pupil with drops to inspect your
optic nerve for signs of damage and, if necessary, measure your
visual field to ascertain if you´ve lost any side vision.
The Foundation advises getting tested every four years if you are under 45, but every two years if you are under 45 and are of African descent and/or have any of these other risk factors: a family history of glaucoma, nearsightedness, diabetes, a previous eye injury or use of cortisone/steroid products regularly.
The Glaucoma Foundation advises anyone 45 or older to have an eye exam every two years, and every year if you are at increased risk of developing the disease.
The Glaucoma Foundation is the premier non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and funding research that seeks new treatments today and cures for tomorrow. Leading the fight against this vision-threatening disease, The Foundation provides educational information for patients and the general public through its user-friendly Web site, www.glaucomafoundation.org.
April, 2003
