Time to look after your eyes

SIGHT is the sense most fear losing, but many of us do little to care for our eyes. This month hosts both National Eye Health Week and National Glaucoma Awareness Week, and the focus on sight has prompted organisations to join forces to encourage people to take responsibility for their eye health. Reporter Marina Berry spoke to Charles Wass, just-retired chairman of West Pennine Local Optical Committee.
Take a moment to look around and see all the things which bring you pleasure.

Now close your eyes and imagine a world without sight, where you can’t read a book or watch the TV, where you can’t see the changes as your children or grandchildren grow, and where the splendours of the seasons and nature are hidden from you forever.

No longer would you be able to see the smile of someone who is pleased to see you, nor the frown of a loved one who needs encouragement or support.

Looking after your eyesight is important, yet thousands of people in Oldham don’t do the one simple thing which can help them keep their eyes healthy — take a regular eye test.

Eye experts say the most important thing anyone can do to help safeguard their sight is have a sight test every two years.

The test can spot early signs of eye problems, and also point to other health conditions, such as diabetes, age-related macular degeneration and high blood pressure.

A sight test is also the only way of detecting glaucoma, an eye condition with is one of the leading causes of preventable blindness in the UK.

One in 50 people over the age of 40 are at risk of developing glaucoma, and of the 500,000 people in England and Wales with the condition, half don’t know they have it.

This shocking figure means 250,000 people are completely unaware that they are slowly losing their eyesight.

Charles Wass, retiring chairman of West Pennine Local Optical Committee, explained: “Glaucoma is a complicated disease which often has few symptoms and is not easy to diagnose.

“At one time, it was believed it could be detected by high pressure in the eye, but now we know the pressure varies from person to person.

“Unfortunately, such a lot of people are happy with a low standard of vision, and they don’t sometimes notice it getting worse.”

Mr Wass said a regular sight test may help some people, particularly with glaucoma, from going blind, and can help detect certain conditions that can cause blindness.

He urged people not to put off having a sight test, even if they do not want, or cannot afford new glasses.

He said not all glasses were expensive, but not replacing the ones they had if the prescription changed slightly would damage the eyes.

Alarming figures from the International Glaucoma Association say sight loss is on the increase, and predict a steady rise in the number of people who are registered blind or partially sighted.

That figure now stands at 75,000, and the eye charity’s chilling prediction is that it will rocket to 94,000 over the next decade.

In most cases, glaucoma has no symptoms in the early stages.

To make detection more tricky, the brain compensates if one eye begins to lose sight, which means up to 40 per cent of vision can be irreversibly lost before it is noticed.

Often, undiagnosed sufferers will start having more trips and falls and, if they drive, may miss cars overtaking or even people crossing the road.

Everyone is at risk of glaucoma, especially those over the age of 40 with a family history of the condition, or are short-sighted, diabetic or of African-Caribbean origin.

The condition is so serious, all immediate relatives of someone with glaucoma are entitled to a free eye test.

Damage caused by the condition can not be reversed, but it can be slowed and even stopped in its tracks.

The key to that is early treatment, so the advice from is, if you are over 40 and don’t have an eye test every two years, book one with a local optician today, even if you don’t think there is anything wrong with your vision.

Make sure you ask for all three glaucoma tests, ophthalmosocopy, which checks the optic nerve at the back of the eye, tonometry, which measures the level of pressure within the eye, and perimetry, which checks the field of vision for any missing areas.

Those entitled to a free NHS sight test include the over-60s, under-16s and under-19s in full-time education.

They are also free to anyone with diabetes or glaucoma, the over-40s who have immediate relatives with glaucoma and to the registered blind or partially-sighted.

They are free to those on certain benefits including income support, income-based jobseekers allowance, income-related employment and support allowance or guaranteed pension credit.

For more information about glaucoma, contact Sightline on 01233-648 170, log on to www.glaucoma-association.com or email info@iga.org.uk .