THE eye condition, glaucoma, accounts for 13 per cent of those on the blind register and yet this loss of sight is usually preventable if the disease is detected early and treated.
During our annual awareness campaign, Frog Week - For Relief Of Glaucoma - we are seeking to alert as many people as possible that, in its most common chronic form, this condition gives no warning symptoms. It is essential that everyone over 40 (or earlier if there is glaucoma in the family) opts for all three glaucoma tests next time they visit the optician.
They are Ophthalomoscopy (viewing the optic disc with a special torch), Perimetry (assessing the field of vision) and Tonometry (measuring the eye pressure).
The inclusion of all three tests has been shown to increase the detection rate by four times when compared with Ophthalmoscopy alone.
Frog Week is from tomorrow until next Thursday and anyone wishing to know more should send a 9ins x 7ins 39p SAE to International Glaucoma Association, King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS.
DAVID WRIGHT, Chief Executive, International Glaucoma Association.
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