Rate of Blindness Caused by Glaucoma
Decreasing
Glaucoma
affects more than 2.7 million people in the United States and over 60 million
globally. Although the disease is a leading cause of blindness worldwide, the
probability of going blind from glaucoma has been significantly reduced due to
advances in diagnosis and treatment. In office use of optical coherence
tomography (OCT) to study and measure the nerve fiber layer of the retina and
optic nerve can detect damage to the optic nerve well before patients become
aware of any visual loss from glaucoma. Modern laser treatments and implantable
microscopic devices (MIGS-Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery) can change the risk
of blindness from glaucoma. Researchers from Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
studied the change in the rate of blindness from glaucoma over 2 consecutive 20
year periods and found that the rate of blindness was decreased by half but
still remained unacceptably high! The best ways to avoid vision loss from
glaucoma are to know your risk factors-such as family history, African and
Hispanic descent, smoking, diabetes and sleep apnea, and be sure to schedule
regular eye exams with glaucoma testing within timeframes recommended by your
eye doctor.
If
you or someone you know is concerned about their risk of glaucoma, schedule an
eye exam at Alabama Eye & Cataract Center, P.C. in Birmingham at
205-930-0930, , visit Alabama Eye &
Cataract Center,
Google or www.facebook.com/alabamaeyeandcataractcenter.
