Sunday, March 17, 2013

L V Prasad Eye Institute organises Public Education Forum on Glaucoma to raise awareness on Glaucoma

L V Prasad Eye Institute organises Public Education Forum on Glaucoma to raise awareness on Glaucoma.
L V Prasad Eye Institute hosted a Public Education Forum on Glaucoma at the Institute on Saturday.  Dr. G. Chandra Sekhar, Director, L V Prasad Eye Institute & VST Centre for Glaucoma Care; Dr. Sirisha Senthil, Sr. Consultant, Glaucoma Services & Dr. Nikhil S Choudari, Consultant, Glaucoma & Neuro-ophthalmology, L V Prasad Eye Institute, addressed the large gathering of patients and clarified their various doubts on Glaucoma. A minutes silence was observed by all those present on the occasion in memory of Dr Anji Reddy, who passed away yesterday.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Sirisha Senthil, said the Forum was being hosted to build awareness about Glaucoma as part of the ‘World Glaucoma Week’ being held from March 10th to 16th, 2013. She said, Glaucoma, a disease of the optic nerve is the second most common cause of blindness. Since there are no warning signs, it is referred to as the ‘sneak thief of sight.’ She said, most people don’t know that they have Glaucoma and discover the problem only when they undergo a check up as it has no typical symptoms. She said there are two types of Glaucoma, no specific cause is known for the primary type and happens due to age. The secondary type is on account of previous injury to eye, eye surgery undergone or steroid induced. The cause of glaucoma is the increase in the intraocular pressure. The fluid inside the eye gets created and drained regularly, with age the draining process slows down leading to increase in the intraocular pressure. This pressure damages the optic nerve, which is irreversible. Glaucoma has no cure but has treatment, the pressure can be controlled and maintained and further damage can be restricted.

Dr. G. Chandra Sekhar said, India is a leading place for Glaucoma. India has 1/6th of the world Glaucoma population. 11 lakh Indians are totally blind because of Glaucoma. He said, periodic check-ups after 40 years of age is essential for detecting early and restricting the damage. Those with Glaucoma will have to seek treatment for the rest of their life, like patients of Hypertension and Diabetes. They need to frequently undergo check-ups once in a quarter and detailed check up once in a year to control and maintain the pressure. He said steroid induced glaucoma is a major concern. Steroids are powerful medicines and are beneficial in treating several diseases. However the problem arises because of indiscriminate usage of steroids by patients without the guidance of doctors. In patients where glaucoma can’t be controlled by medicines, surgery is the option. The major risk factors for glaucoma are high myopia, hypertension, diabetes etc.
Children born of consanguineous marriages can have glaucoma by birth also known as congenital glaucoma. Such new borns can be identified with symptoms like watery eyes, the baby may also appear to be sensitive to light, eyes that look cloudy, eyes that look larger than normal because the eyeballs have become enlarged as a result of high pressure. These new borns can be treated with a surgery, any delay in treatment can damage their sight, says Dr. Sirisha.