WORLD GLAUCOMA WEEK 2012

World Glaucoma Week - March 11 - 17, 2012
 'Don’t let glaucoma darken your life'

The Lions Club of Castries join with the Saint Lucia Blind Welfare Association, and the Saint Lucia Glaucoma Association in observation of World Glaucoma week from March 11 - 17, 2012.  The aim of week is to increase public awareness of Glaucoma as the leading cause of irreversible preventable visual disability or blindness, to encourage screenings, patient education and advocacy.

Some of the activities planned in observance of this week include:

1    Saturday 10, March 2012 -  Fun Walk in Soufriere 7:30 a.m.

2    Sunday 11, March, 2012   -   A church service at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church at 7:30 a.m.

3    Friday 16, March 2012     -  Fund raising Bar-b-que on the SLBWA grounds - 5:30.m.

4     Radio and Television Talks throughout the week.

What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that cause progressive damage of the optic nerve at the point where it leaves the eye to carry visual information to the brain. 

If left untreated, most types of glaucoma progress (without warning nor obvious symptoms to the patient) towards gradually worsening visual damage and may lead to blindness. Once incurred, visual damage is mostly irreversible, and this has led to glaucoma being described as the "silent blinding disease" or the "sneak thief of sight".

Glaucoma is the second most common cause of blindness worldwide. It is estimated that 4.5 million persons globally are blind due to glaucoma and that this number will rise to 11.2 million by 2020. It is noteworthy that due to the silent progression of the disease - at least in its early stages - up to 50% of affected persons in the developed countries are not even aware of having glaucoma. This number may rise to 90% in underdeveloped parts of the world.

There are several types of glaucoma. Some may occur as a complication of other visual disorders (the so-called "secondary" glaucomas) but the vast majority is "primary", i.e. they occur without a known cause. It was once believed that the cause of most or all glaucomas was high pressure within the eye (known as intraocular pressure - sometimes abbreviated as IOP). It is now established however, that even people without an abnormally high IOP may suffer from glaucoma. Intraocular pressure is considered therefore today as a "Risk Factor" for glaucoma, together with other factors such as racial ancestry, family history, high myopia and age.

Some forms of glaucoma may occur at birth ("congenital") or during infancy and childhood ("juvenile"); in most cases however, glaucoma appears after the 4^th decade of life, and its frequency increases with age. There is no clearly established difference in glaucoma incidence between men and women.

 There is no cure for glaucoma as yet, and vision loss is irreversible. However medication or surgery (traditional or laser) can halt or slow-down any further vision loss. Therefore early detection is essential to limiting visual impairment and preventing the progression towards severe visual handicap or blindness. Your eye-care professional can detect glaucoma in its early stages and advise you on the best course of action.

The  Board of Directors and Members of the Lions Club of Castries  congratulates the Saint Lucia  Glaucoma Association on the observance of this week.