Let's Talk About Glaucoma Awareness Month!

Our first blog post of 2023 is focused around Glaucoma Awareness Month, an event in the vision and eye health calendar that is recognized every January. It is particularly important to acknowledge Glaucoma Awareness Month because less than half of all Canadians are aware of this disease and yet it is one of the leading causes of blindness, affecting more than 400,000 Canadians.

Described as the “silent thief of sight”, glaucoma is a disease of the optic nerve most often caused by the build-up of intraocular pressure inside the eye. The nerve fibers become damaged by this build-up of pressure and this is followed by blind spots and a loss of vision. This happens because the optic nerve is what transmits the images one sees from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma is dubbed the silent thief of sight as it often does not show any noticeable symptoms until the degeneration of the optic nerve has progressed to a more advanced stage – This is why it is strongly advised by eye care professionals that you have a full comprehensive eye examination every two years (or annually for children and seniors).

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that most of the people who are affected by glaucoma do not even realize that they have the disease. Only with regular eye examinations, early diagnosis and ongoing monitoring can the disease be controlled and vision loss prevented. While it is more common in adults, glaucoma can also affect young people so it important to be aware that anybody could be at risk. That said, the risk is much greater if you are over 60 or have a family history of glaucoma.

Tests that can evaluate whether glaucoma is present or not and to what extent:

  • Tonometry testing is used to assess eye pressure

  • Visual field testing assesses peripheral vision

  • OCT (optical coherence tomography) testing is used to evaluate the thickness of the retina and optic nerve

There are more tests that can be performed to form a glaucoma diagnosis but the aforementioned tests can all be carried out at your optometric clinic and are standard components of the full comprehensive eye exam.

Glaucoma can be treated with eye drops, medication and laser surgery so long as it is detected in its early stages. Even though it is not always easy to notice the symptoms, there are certain signs that you can look out for.

Signs you may have increased eye pressure:

  • Eye pain and redness

  • Blurry vision

  • Halos in your vision (this could be accompanied by nausea)

While the daily use of eye drops and the process of laser eye surgery can help to maintain vision, once you lose your vision to glaucoma you cannot get it back – so be sure to visit your optometrist on a regular basis and attend follow-up appointments as advised!

Teri Hines