Glaucoma: The sneak thief of sight

Dr. Ajani Magdalene, Senior Consultant Ophthalmologist of the State House Medical Centre Aso-Rock describes Sule’s case as a classical example of glaucoma. Hear her. “The classical case of glaucoma is that the eyes look normal, yet they patient cannot see. Where the problem lies is the back of the eye. The pressure builds and then […]

Dr. Ajani Magdalene, Senior Consultant Ophthalmologist of the State House Medical Centre Aso-Rock describes Sule’s case as a classical example of glaucoma. Hear her. “The classical case of glaucoma is that the eyes look normal, yet they patient cannot see. Where the problem lies is the back of the eye. The pressure builds and then damages the nerve of vision. And that is what carries information from the eye to the brain and brings it back for us to see anything around us. The nerve cannot be seen physically but with our instrument and the lens one can look at the nerve directly and see the degree of damage”. Ajani explains.

Glaucoma is a pressure related disease in the eye that slowly and progressively damages the naval vision. Unfortunately, there is no warning sign to tell that one has glaucoma. Experts say open-angle glaucoma starts slowly and progresses down the road. Except for a few that have high pressure or may have some pain in the eye glaucoma does not have any symptom.

Dr. Adeyinka Ashaye, a medical expert and President of Glaucoma Society of Nigeria revealed during the World Glaucoma Week that over six million people in Nigeria have been affected by glaucoma. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness and vision loss in the world following cataracts. In Nigeria, it is the leading cause of irreversible blindness affecting an estimated 17 – 40% of the population 40 years and above.

Dr. Ajani states those that are on the watch list for glaucoma. “If you are black skinned, you are at high risk of having high level glaucoma.  For the fact that you are over 40 years old you are at a high risk of having glaucoma. If any of your parents had glaucoma, the risk of you having glaucoma is five times higher. Then if a parent and one of the children have glaucoma, the risk of other children having glaucoma is nine time.”

The bad news is that there is no cure for glaucoma. Dr Ajani puts it this way. “There is no cure for glaucoma. It is still the major challenge we have as eye care practitioners all over the world. What we could be talking more about is preventative measures. Screening those who are at risk regularly. Those that their family has high risk, they need to be screened at least once a year so if we notice that they are likely to have it, we treat promptly.”

However, there is still hope for those that have not gone totally blind as a result of glaucoma yet. Dr Ajani says “ we can control that pressure by the use of drugs. There are various drugs now used for it and they are all available in Nigeria. Again, surgery can be done for patients that have established glaucoma and are not responding to medical treatment. When you do the surgery, what you achieve is reduction in pressure; you re-establish the normal flow of communication of that aqueous fluid, slow down the progression of the damage to the nerve and the blindness that the patient may come up. There is the Laser surgery treatment. Here the surgery that should be performed openly is performed with a ray of light.” Dr. Ajani explains.

Here are few tips to help prevent glaucoma.

Get regular eye care. Regular comprehensive eye exams can help detect glaucoma in its early stages before irreversible damage occurs. As a general rule, have comprehensive eye exams every three to five years after age 40 and every year after age 60. You may need more frequent screening if you have glaucoma risk factors.

Control your weight and blood pressure. Studies have shown that insulin resistance — which may result from hypertension and obesity — is linked to elevated intraocular pressure.

Wear eye protection. Serious eye injuries can lead to glaucoma. Wear eye protection when necessary.