106 | April• 2018
LONG-TERM VISION
Glaucoma – A STEALTH DISEASE
G
laucomaisanopticnerve
condition that doesn’t
directly damage the
retinabutrobsmany
people of vision. Fluid flows into
anddrainsoutoftheeyeatset
rates. When it doesn’t flow quickly
enough,pressurecanbuildup,
damageingtheopticnerve.This
causes irreversible peripheral
vision loss and can lead
to blindness.
>You can’t tell if
you have glaucoma
because it’s painless,
your central vision
is intact, and
you’re tricked into
believingthatyou
have peripheral
vision.
Unlike AMD, it’s
notadarkspot.For
example, you are be
threecarsbutyous
cars.Whatdoyouseeinstead
ofthethirdcar?Youjustsee
street.Yourbrainfillsinwhat
youexpecttoseeorareused
toseeing.Ifachildrunsintothe
street and into the part where
youdon’tseeanything,you
don’tevennoticethatyou don’t
see the child.
>The World Health
Organization cites glaucoma
asthesecondleadingcauseof
blindnessintheworld.Glaucoma
is more common after age 60and it often runs in families.
There’snowaytoloweryour
risk and no cure, but there are
treatments–eyedropsaremost
common,followedbylaser
treatment or surgery.
Although drops can prevent
vision loss, unfortunately many
patients don’t consistently use
theirdrops.Doctorswantto
change this. Moorfields Eye
in the UK is
ntly leading a
e, randomised,
ulti-centre
rial of people
with glaucoma
to see which
is the most
cost-efective
reatment and
hich one patients
fer, the drops or
ser treatment.
eter Austin was
diagnosedwithearlyglaucoma
atage32.At61,hisvisionisstill
intactbecause,twiceaday,he
applies eyedrops.
“It’s not uncomfortable, it’s
notdicult–youjusthavetobe
disciplined,”saidAustin,apatient
advocate with the International
Glaucoma Association. “Tell me,
howmuchofyoureyesightwould
youliketolosebeforeyoufelt
terrible enough to do something?
I haven’t missed a dose for more
than 20 years.”