Approximately half a million Australians are blind or vision impaired. Some 80% of vision loss is caused by just five conditions: age-related macular degeneration, cataract, refractive error, diabetes related retinopathy and glaucoma.
Glaucoma is sometimes referred to as the “sneak thief” of sight because it gradually and permanently destroys side vision, often without being noticed.
There are several different forms of glaucoma. It is the name given to a group of eye diseases where the optic nerve at the back of the eye is damaged. The damage is caused when pressure in the eyeball rises due to a build up of fluid. This fluid build-up takes place either because too much fluid is formed or because the canals in the eye, which normally drain the fluid away, don’t work properly.
Unfortunately, glaucoma can’t be cured. Once there is damage to the nerve cells in the eye, repair is not possible. However, the serious consequences of glaucoma can be prevented if the condition is discovered soon enough; and early treatment, usually with eye drops to stabilise the pressure in the eye, can help avoid further loss of sight. As well, up to date information about glaucoma is available by way of the new Vision Impairment Fact Card available from pharmacies providing the Pharmaceutical Society’s Self Care health information.
Glaucoma is very much a family affair. If someone in your family has or had glaucoma you’re almost three times more likely to have glaucoma yourself. And that risk increases as you get older.
You are also at greater risk of getting glaucoma if you have diabetes or high blood pressure, if you are short-sighted or if you get migraine headaches.
In the early stages of glaucoma, most people experience no symptoms, even when losing their sight. Nevertheless, there are sometimes warning signs. Some people may notice a need to change their glasses more often, perhaps find it hard to see in dark rooms, lose wide vision, or have blurred sight.
So if your sight is hazy or blurred, or your eyes difficult to focus, it’s clearly important to see your optometrist or ophthalmologist for a check up.
The only way to prevent complete loss of vision is early detection and treatment.
The theme for the recent National Glaucoma Week was “Don’t lose your drivers licence to Glaucoma”.
National Executive Officer for Glaucoma Australia, Beverley Lindsell, said the theme was chosen because losing a driver’s licence generally led to major lifestyle issues related to mobility and independence. Licence loss can be a consequence of untreated glaucoma.
“Our major message is that all Australians aged 40 and over must have their eyes checked at least every two years by an optometrist or opthalmologist, more regularly if they have a family history of the condition, hypertension, diabetes or a former eye injury.”
Mrs Lindsell said research showed that drivers with moderate to severe glaucoma were six times more likely to be involved in an ‘at fault’ vehicle accident than those drivers not suffering from the condition.
If you have glaucoma and are using drops, make sure you know how your eye medicines work so as to get the most benefit from them. Ask your pharmacist for the Vision Impairment Self Care Fact Card; and there is some special information on glaucoma which your pharmacist can print out for you. It also gives some helpful hints on how eye drops should be applied.
For the location of the “Self Care” pharmacy nearest you, call the Pharmaceutical Society on 1300 369 772 or check out the Pharmaceutical Society website: www.psa.org.au
