Early Detection And Treatment Of Glaucoma Vital

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31124, 29 July 1966, Page 10

Early Detection And Treatment Of Glaucoma Vital

“In surveys undertaken in some overseas countries, it has been found that two per cent of the population over the age of 40 is suffering from unsuspected glaucoma,” says a senior ophthalmologist in an article supplied by the regional organiser of Braille Week (Mr H. W. Burrows). “During Braille Week, which ends on Saturday, the New Zealand Foundation for the Blind is providing information to the public on eye care, as well as appealing for funds to enable it to continue its services throughout the country. The group of eye diseases known as glaucoma constitutes a major cause of loss of vision, the ophthalmologist says. He describes delay in seeking expert attention as “nothing less than tragic, because in these cases what has been lost is irrevocably lost,

and also because, generally,! treatment is only really effec-ji tive in preventing further < loss of vision if it is instituted 1 in the early stages of the I complaint. ; “The various types of i glaucoma have in common an i increase in the pressure in- ! side the eye-ball, and the eventual total destruction of ; vision,” he says. “The number of people suffering from these conditions who are : already under treatment in ' New Zealand is not known, i but there are several thousand of them. Strange Symptoms , “One type of glaucoma In its early stages gives rise to , strange symptoms. Affected people experience attacks in which their vision is slightly blurred and their eyes are vaguely uncomfortable, and the observant ones notice rainbow coloured haloes around lights at night, much the same as may be seen when looking through a misted car window at a naked street light.

I “These episodes are transient, and rarely obtrusive, and therefore it is common for them to be disregarded. If they are ignored and appropriate treatment not instituted, eventually a much more dramatic attack is likely. “In this, the eye becomes agonisingly painful and the vision is profoundly reduced in a matter of hours. If this acute attack is not urgently treated permanent loss of sight in the affected eye is inevitable. “However, appropriate treatment can prevent such disastrous attacks, from ever occuring if the full significance of the warning episodes of blurred vision and haloes is appreciated. Similar haloes around lights can be due to other causes, such as the early stages of cataract formation, but they should never be regarded as meaningless curiosities. No Warning “People who suffer from another and much more common type of glaucoma are

given no warning that they are suffering from this condition. It is a silently treacherous destroyer of vision which over a period of years so slowly diminishes sight that the affected person is quite unaware of what is happening. “There is no pain, the eye looks clear and normal on the outside and activities such as reading are not in any way impaired. By the time the patient becomes aware of his failing sight the condition is so firmly established that treatment is disappointingly unsuccessful. In other words, for fully effective treatment this condition must be diagnosed before it has caused any symptoms. “If diagnosed at an early stage and effective treatment is embarked upon, further loss can be prevented in almost all cases. In the majority of these early cases, the treatment necessary is the application of drugs of various types to the eye, usually in the form of eye drops. Regular Examination “This treatment is not truly curative. It will only control the condition and therefore must be consistently used for the rest of the patient’s life. This, however, is a small price to pay for normal sight In a few cases surgical treatment is necessary to lower the pressure inside the eye-ball to a level at which further destruction of the delicate tissues inside the eye does not occur. “The paramount importance of early detection of glaucoma will be obvious and it will also be obvious that this can only be achieved if people from the age of 55 to 60 years regularly submit their eyes to medical examination for the specific purpose of determining whether or not I they are suffering from early glaucoma. “Until such time as a com-' prehensive scheme of eye! examination for older people! can be provided in New Zealand, it is up to the individual to seek the examination for himself,"