Mumbai – The eye is the most important and delicate organ of the body, so it is important to take care of its health. According to the World Health Organization, various eye diseases are a major cause of blindness and vision loss, and glaucoma is one of the leading causes. According to the National Program for Control of Blindness, India has 20% of the world’s blind population. Glaucoma affects 12 million people in India every year and 1.2 million people suffer from permanent blindness due to neglect or lack of treatment. On the occasion of World Glaucoma Day giving more information about this, Consulting Eye Surgeon from Platinum Hospital, Mulund, Dr. Manish Mirani Thakkar says, “Glaucoma occurs when the pressure inside the eyeball rises above the normal level. There are no symptoms or signs of the disease. Therefore, timely treatment is required. Otherwise, the retina is damaged. The disease is also known as “vision-theft” because of the risk of blindness. In the last two years, people with diabetes, high blood pressure and other serious illnesses have been stranded at home due to the Corona epidemic. Heredities, diabetes, and the increasing use of steroid drugs are increasing the incidence of glaucoma. The problem is that most people don’t even realize that they have this condition until it is too late. Therefore, it is important to go for regular check-ups with a glaucoma expert or an ophthalmologist. Age is another factor. It is a condition found in the elderly. Taking over-the-counter steroids eye drops/cream can lead to high intraocular pressure which in turn can lead to development of this disease. Also, this is the basic difference between glaucoma and cataracts. After treatment for cataracts, after surgery for it, your vision is almost 100 percent restored. But even with 5% loss of vision in glaucoma, there is no cure. Ninety percent of patients in India do not notice glaucoma at the time, and this is not to say that such patients are low-income or under-educated; even well-educated people don’t realize they have glaucoma, and when they do, it’s too late.”
A glaucoma patient needs frequent check-ups depending on how advanced their disease is. Another was that the elderly didn’t have family members to take them for a follow-up since they had tested positive. Eye, one sees is never a priority with people unless people face serious vision issues, so Early detection by screening is the only way to prevent vision loss due to Glaucoma says Dr Mirani
