Story last updated at 1/25/2012 - 11:04 am
January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month, and the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) is working to help people learn more about the eye disease.
"Glaucoma is considered a silent thief of sight," said Dr. Shannon Farr, OD, an optometrist at the SEARHC Ethel Lund Medical Center in Juneau. "People start to lose their side vision, and without treatment this vision loss can affect their central vision as well. Treatment typically involves using an eye drop on a daily basis, and the more advanced cases of glaucoma do require surgery."
Glaucoma has no warning signs, and left untreated it can lead to permanent vision loss or blindness. The National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) recommends people with a higher risk for glaucoma receive a comprehensive dilated-eye vision exam every one to two years. People with higher risk for glaucoma include African Americans older than 40 years old, all adults older than 60, especially Mexican Americans and/or people with a family history of the disease.
To learn more about glaucoma and how you can prevent it, contact your local SEARHC eye clinic in Juneau at 463-4086 or in Sitka at 966-8415.
