According to a 2002 survey by Prevent Blindness America, an astonishing 80% of respondents had no idea what glaucoma was. Some had never even heard of glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness in the world. So just how common is glaucoma?
The Prevalence of Glaucoma Worldwide
How Common Is Glaucoma?
Currently, there are 60 million people worldwide (2.2 million Americans) afflicted with glaucoma. What’s scarier is that roughly half of those people – nearly 30 million people – don’t even know they have glaucoma.
Who Is at Risk of Glaucoma?
The simple answer is everyone.
Everyone from young children (even babies) to senior citizens is at risk. However, this risk increases along with age. This is why it is so important to have your eyes examined regularly.
Oh yea, did we mention that glaucoma shows no signs or symptoms? A person can lose as much as 40% of his or her vision before it becomes detectable. So, when was your last eye exam? Glaucoma can cause blindness if it is left undiagnosed and untreated. Treatment, meanwhile, successfully preserves vision 95% of the time or more, especially when the condition is caught early.
How is Glaucoma Diagnosed and Treated?
It all starts with the visual field test (clicky test). Patients are asked to click a button every time they see a spot flash onto the screen. This subjective measure of central and peripheral vision (side vision) is used by eye doctors to diagnose vision loss due to glaucoma and, in turn, monitor glaucoma progression.
Early diagnosis and treatment are critical to managing glaucoma, as it must be treated over the course of one’s life, and high IOP must be managed every day.
Glaucoma Treatment in Annapolis, Maryland
The Anne Arundel Eye Center is a regional leader in the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma. Board certified ophthalmologist Dr. Samuel Boles and his staff have helped preserve thousands of patients’ vision. They can help you too.
If you have any questions Diagnosing and Treating Glaucoma or wish to schedule an appointment with Anne Arundel Eye Center, please contact Dr. Boles, Dr. Kathryn Gurganus Turner, and the eye care specialists here at AAEC by calling 410-224-2010 or Click Here to fill out our contact form. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube as well!
For more eye care advice and information, please take a look at our previous blog posts.