Be alert of Glaucoma

A lot of South Africans are not aware that they have glaucoma which is a foremost cause of blindness. With March 10–16 regarded as World Glaucoma Week, Novartis South Africa motivates citizens to be alert of their risk and to take steps to have the diseases diagnosed as early as possible.

The disease is sometimes called the ‘silent thief in the night’ because patients may lose their minor vision slowly with no signs. Glaucoma is a group of condition that leads to damage of the optic nerve and it is frequently linked to an increased eye pressure even if it may also occur with regular eye pressure. This slowly developing disease causes permanent loss of vision and can result in blindness if not identified and treated early.

Chris Hani Baragwanath St John Eye Hospital glaucoma specialist and ophthalmologist, Dr Philip Phatudi, said few people are alert of the dangers of glaucoma. “Clearly the message is not filtering out that people need to be aware of the risks, and have regular glaucoma tests if they are in a higher risk group. The bad thing about glaucoma is that, once you realise your vision has faded, it is already too late and the damage already caused is permanent.”

Dr Phatudi advises people with a family history of glaucoma, people who are short-sighted and anyone over the age of 40 to have regular screenings for the disease because people over 40 have a high risk of developing the disease. Globally, glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness. Up to 70 million people have it and a predictable 10 per cent is going blind as a result.

In South Africa, an estimated 200 000 people are living with the condition. Glaucoma can exist at any age even though the commonest type, primary open angle glaucoma frequently occurs after the age of 40. In SA, the occurrence of the disease in people older than 40 is between 4.5 per cent and 5.3 per cent. In whites, one in 40 people over the age of 40 years will develop glaucoma which equals 2 per cent.

Glaucoma is the second most common cause of blindness globally. It is estimated that up to 50 per cent of affected people in the developed countries and as many as 90 per cent of people in under-developed parts of the world are not aware of the condition.

There is no cure for glaucoma yet, but medication or surgery can stop or slow down any further vision loss. “We have technology that is able to detect early features of glaucoma, so we are now able to start treatment at an early stage and slow the progression of the disease. The earlier we detect glaucoma, the better,” said Dr Phatudi.

Novartis South Africa is aiming to raise awareness of the dangers of glaucoma and they will participate in World Glaucoma Week 2019 by supporting health professionals with the disease and treatment information for patients. Medical head – specialty care at Southern Africa Novartis SA, Dr Chris Nathaniel said with the large number of people undiagnosed, they want to help raise awareness of the dangers and notify people that treatment is accessible to slow down the growth of the disease. “We will be supporting clinics and hospitals in a number of provinces by distributing information packs to patients,” said Dr Nathaniel.

Relate article: 

https://northeasterntribune.co.za/214705/certain-eye-problems-hereditary-environmental/