Host of activities lined up for Glaucoma Awareness Week

The Glaucoma Awareness Week will be observed from March 8-14. Marking the week, LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) has planned a series of activities in collaboration with ophthalmologists, pharmaceutical industry and the Telugu Film Industry. A Glaucoma Awareness Walk will be conducted on March 8 from Prasad Labs to Jubilee Hills Check Post. This will be followed by a talk on ‘The Art and Science of Glaucoma’ by the Hyderabad Ophthalmic Association for all the practicing ophthalmologists and postgraduate trainees of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

On March 12, there will be a forum on educating the patient between 4 and 6 pm at the Kallam Anji Reddy Campus on Banjara Hills, Road No 2. The theme for this year’s Glaucoma Week is ‘BIG - Beat Invisible Glaucoma’. The focus is on early detection and prevention of the disease through family screening. Glaucoma is seen as the leading cause of irreversible blindness in India.

It is a disorder associated with increase in the eye pressure and is characterised by damage to the optic nerve leading to irreversible blindness. Currently, in India, every nearly 40 million people aged 40 or older either have glaucoma or are at the risk of developing the disease. Of this, 1.1 million people are blind including children.

High myopes, diabetics and those with a positive family history have higher risk of developing glaucoma. Screening family members of patients with glaucoma is mandatory as this disease can affect siblings and children of patients with glaucoma in about 10-20 per cent of

Ninety per cent of glaucoma in the country is undetected, mostly due to lack of awareness. Most patients are unaware that they could be suffering from glaucoma, because the disease causes very late onset of symptoms, which could be as late as when they begin experiencing loss of vision. Presenting themselves to eye care providers at a very late stage makes restoration of visual function quite impossible.