The first ever World Glaucoma Day on 6 March has been developed by The World Glaucoma Association and the World Glaucoma Patient Organisation in response to the concern over the worldwide increase in the number of people with glaucoma — also known as 'the sneak thief of sight'.

"Glaucoma, which refers to a group of disorders that leads to damage of the optic nerve and is associated with increased eye pressure, is a devastating eye disease that affects around five to seven percent of the black population, and three to five percent of the white population in South Africa.

It is estimated that about 200 000 people in South Africa are currently affected," says Dr Ellen Ancker, executive member of the South African Glaucoma Society and an ophthalmologist from Cape Town.

The only chronic eye disease

The total number of suspected cases of glaucoma is around 66 million worldwide. Glaucoma is the only eye disease classified as a chronic disease, amongst the legislated 25 chronic diseases. It is one of the leading causes of blindness in South Africa.

Glaucoma gradually causes blindness without warning. It's a disease that receives very little attention and the South African population are largely ignorant thereof.

Because glaucoma is a progressive disease causing irreversible visual loss, usually without warning until relatively advanced, and because 50 percent of affected people in the developed world (up to 90 percent in developing countries) do not know that they have the disease and are therefore not on treatment, community awareness needs to be significantly increased.

Regular eye checks needed

This includes awareness of the disease and of the need to have regular eye checks, thereby permitting earlier detection and avoidance of what should be a preventable visual disability.

Vision loss in a glaucoma patient is caused by damage to the optic nerve. This nerve acts like an electric cable with over a million wires. It is responsible for carrying images to the brain. According to the World Health Organisation, glaucoma, if left untreated, is the second leading cause of blindness in the world.

High-risk groups include the black population, people over 60 years of age, family members of those already diagnosed, diabetic patients and people who are severely nearsighted.

Although older people are at a higher risk, babies can be born with glaucoma (approximately one out of every 10 000 babies born in the US are affected). Young adults can get glaucoma too. In South Africa, glaucoma is far more prevalent in the black community.

No cure as yet

As yet, there is no cure for glaucoma and vision lost cannot be regained. Early detection and diagnosis may result in the condition being medicated or surgically operated on, which may halt further loss of vision.

Unfortunately, approximately 10 percent of people with glaucoma who receive proper treatment still experience loss of vision. Glaucoma is a chronic condition and must be monitored for life.

Glaucoma is often referred to as the 'silent thief of sight', because most types typically cause no pain and produce no symptoms. For this reason, glaucoma often progresses undetected until the optic nerve has already been irreversibly damaged, with varying degrees of permanent vision loss.

A survey done for the American Glaucoma Research Foundation found that blindness is ranked third, after cancer and heart disease, as a disease of disability which people most fear.

Glaucoma damage to sight is irreversible, but treatment is usually effective in preventing further damage. The earlier the treatment, the more sight can be preserved. The goal of glaucoma treatment is the preservation of visual function and quality of life, with minimum or no side-effects and minimal disruption to the patient.

Enhancing global glaucoma awareness

It is vitally important that South Africans are aware of the prevalence of glaucoma and the devastating effect it has on vision.

According to the Ophthalmology Society of South Africa, every South African should visit their ophthalmologist or optometrist (one specially trained in glaucoma detection) every two to four years after the age of 40 and every one to two years after the age of 55.

If there are any risk factors for developing glaucoma (such as blood relatives with glaucoma, short-sightedness, diabetes and black ancestry) then anyone 35 years and older should have a thorough glaucoma check every one to two years.

This is the ultimate goal of World Glaucoma Day: To enhance global glaucoma awareness through a variety of traditional and novel communication strategies and events.

Additional information about World Glaucoma Day can be found at www.sags.co.za or www.wgday.net.