Improvement in Glaucoma Blindness Rate

Glaucoma affects more than 2.7 million people in the United States and over 60 million globally. Although the disease is a leading cause of blindness worldwide, the probability of going blind from glaucoma has been significantly reduced due to advances in diagnosis and treatment. In office use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to study and measure the nerve fiber layer of the retina and optic nerve as well lasers and implantable microscopic devices to change the risk of blindness from glaucoma. Researchers from Mayo Clinic College of Medicine studied the change in the rate of blindness from glaucoma over 2 consecutive 20 year periods and found that the rate of blindness was decreased by half but still remained unacceptably high! The best ways to avoid vision loss from glaucoma are to know your risk factors-such as family history, African and Hispanic descent, smoking, diabetes and sleep apnea, and be sure to schedule regular eye exams with glaucoma testing within timeframes recommended by your eye doctor.

If you or someone you now is concerned about their risk of glaucoma, schedule an eye exam at Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center at 219-464-8223, or visit Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center, Google or facebook.com/nwindianaeyeandlaser. 

Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center offices are located at 502 Marquette Street, Valparaiso, Indiana 46383 and 1001 South Edgewood Drive, Knox, Indiana 46354