WARNING AGAINST GLAUCOMA INSIDIOUS EYE DISEASE

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29776, 20 March 1962, Page 7

WARNING AGAINST GLAUCOMA INSIDIOUS EYE DISEASE

Those of middleage and beyond should have an eye check every two or three years to guard against glaucoma, “the thief in the night that steals away your sight without your noticing it happening.” a Christchurch ophthalmologist said. Attention to glaucoma and another eye condition, cataract, as well as to eye injuries is being drawn by the New Zealand health authorities as part of a worldwide campaign against blindness The focal date of the campaign is World Health Day, April 7. “Glaucoma is oi two kinds, chronic and acute." explained the specialist.

“tn th acute kind, which accounts for about one case in 10 the condition is of sudden onse' and causes so rru-h pain tha* there is no dange: of the patient not seeking medical attention. With chronic glaucoma, however, the symptoms are so mild and so little that they often pass unnoticed for a long time, so that the condition can be quite advanced before the patient becomes aware of anything wrong. “Early symptoms of chronic glaucoma include the following (although any individual sufferer may not experience more than one or two of them):

“The patient complains of waking early, at (say) 4 am, and being unable to get to sleep again. “He has vague headaches, becoming more frequent and prolonged.

“He sees coloured rings round lights at night. “His visual acuity falls off at twilight, and he cannot see well after dark.

"Frequent changes of spectacle* are often necessary, perhaps once a year. “At the second stage of the disease, there is loss of sidevision. and it is at this point that the condition is usually first noticed by a patient who has not been warned to look for the earlier symptoms.

"Treatment in many cases can be carried out successfully with eye-drops and tablets, although surgery is occasionally necessary. “Glaucoma is caused by a build-up of pressure owing to a block in the natural drainage svstem of the fluid which washes the interior of the

eye. The pressure can be measured from outside by a sensitive instrument known as a tonometer.

“The blindness is caused by the eye pressing on its optic nerve.

“In some cases the pressure build-up results from hemorrhages or inflammations within the ej’e, or even in certain circumstances by the natural growth of the lens, particularly with longsighted persons. In a certain proportion of cases we cannot trace the cause. “Glaucoma is not infectious. It runs in some families, however, and anyone with a family history of glaucoma should take especial care to have regular checks of the internal pressure within the eye.” said the specialist