News
Editorial: Don't lose sight of your eyesight
Scott Wagar
01/08/2013
With starting the new year, perhaps the best resolution one can have is to make a promise to take better care of your eyes. And, January is the best month to do that considering January is Glaucoma Awareness Month.
According to glaucoma.com, 2.7 million individuals in the U.S. over age 40 have glaucoma. What is more alarming than this number is that glaucoma.com states that the National Eye Institute is predicting that individuals with glaucoma will reach 4.2 million by 2030, which is a 58 percent increase.
Throughout the world, there are 60 million people who have glaucoma.
Four key facts about glaucoma include:
- Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness
- There is no cure for glaucoma
- Everyone is at risk for glaucoma (African Americans and Latinos are more susceptible)
- There may be no symptoms for glaucoma
When referring to the last fact above, as much as 40 percent of an individual’s sight can be lost before it is detectable. Of the 60 million people who presently have glaucoma, 50 percent of them do not know they have the disease.
There is normally no pain with this disease. However, for most with glaucoma, vision loss starts with peripheral or side vision, which most individuals fix when trying to see clearly by turning their head to the side. Although, this only works until people lose a significant amount of their eye sight.
There are treatments for glaucoma, but one must be diagnosed first. So, the best way to reduce the chance of this eye disease is to be tested.
Glucoma.com added that with an increase in the aging population, an epidemic of blindness is on our horizon and we as a society must find a way to provide a cure for glaucoma, which can be done through awareness and financial donations to research institutions.
To learn more about glaucoma, go to Mayo Clinic’s website or glaucoma.com.
Remember, don’t lose sight of your eye sight, take the time to be tested.