January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month.
We’d like to take this opportunity to share with you some facts about “the sneak thief of sight.” Over 4 million Americans, and nearly 70 million people worldwide, have glaucoma. Experts estimate that half of them don’t know they have it. Gainesville seniors are just as equally affected.
Glaucoma is the leading cause of preventable blindness and the second leading cause of blindness in the world, according to the World Health Organization. There are no symptoms and once vision is lost, it’s permanent. Did you know that a person can lose up to 40% of his or her vision without noticing? In the United States, approximately 120,000 are blind from glaucoma, accounting for 9%–12% of all cases of blindness.
Gainesville Seniors! Are You at Risk for Glaucoma?
Everyone is at risk for glaucoma. However, certain groups are at higher risk than others. If you fall into any of the following categories, you should get a complete eye exam, including eye dilation, every one or two years.
- African-Americans: Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness among African-Americans. It is six to eight times more common in African-Americans than in Caucasians.
- People Over 60: Glaucoma is much more common among older people. You are six times more likely to get glaucoma if you are over 60 years old.
- Family Members with Glaucoma: The most common type of glaucoma, primary open-angle glaucoma, is hereditary. If members of your immediate family have glaucoma, you are at a much higher risk than the rest of the population. Family history increases risk of glaucoma four to nine times.
- Hispanics in Older Age Groups: Recent studies indicate that the risk for Hispanic populations is greater than those of predominantly European ancestry, and that the risk increases among Hispanics over age 60.
- Asians: People of Asian descent appear to be at some risk for angle-closure glaucoma. angle-closure glaucoma accounts for less than 10% of all diagnosed cases of glaucoma. Otherwise there is no known increased risk in Asian populations.
- Steroid Users: Some evidence links steroid use to glaucoma. A study reported in the Journal of American Medical Association, March 5, 1997, demonstrated a 40% increase in the incidence of ocular hypertension and open-angle glaucoma in adults who require approximately 14 to 35 puffs of steroid inhaler to control asthma. This is a very high dose, only required in cases of severe asthma.
- Eye Injury: Injury to the eye may cause secondary open-angle glaucoma. This type of glaucoma can occur immediately after the injury or years later. Blunt injuries that “bruise” the eye (called blunt trauma) or injuries that penetrate the eye can damage the eye’s drainage system, leading to traumatic glaucoma. The most common cause is sports-related injuries such as baseball or boxing.
- Other risk factors include: High myopia (nearsightedness), diabetes, hypertension, and a central corneal thickness less than .5 mm.
What’s Next?
There is no cure for glaucoma—yet. However, medication or surgery can slow or prevent further vision loss. The appropriate treatment depends upon the type of glaucoma among other factors. Early detection is vital to stopping the progress of the disease.
Glaucoma Research Foundation is a national non-profit organization funding innovative research to preserve vision and find a cure for glaucoma.
At the end of 2010, Prevent Blindness America launched their initiative 20/20 at Forty: Focus On Eye Health, encouraging adults to make a New Year’s resolution to schedule an eye exam. Remember that early diagnosis and treatment can lessen the effects of glaucoma!
Comfort Keepers provides in-home care to seniors and the elderly living in Ocala, Gainesville, and The Villages, Florida. We provide superior in-home care to seniors and the elderly throughout Central Florida so they can live enriched independent lifestyles! Call us today at 855-592-0013.
Resources for Free Screening
The following organizations provide free glaucoma screenings for those who are eligible:
EyeCare America – Glaucoma EyeCare Program
The Friends of the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus Foundation
