In the blink of an eye - Preston clinic supports January’s Glaucoma Awareness Month

That’s why leading UK eye specialist Optegra Eye Clinic Preston is supporting January’s Glaucoma Awareness Month with a campaign to raise awareness about this eye disease and encourage everyone, but particularly those who are at high risk (e.g. those with a family history), to get their eyes checked with a local optometrist.

The key to protecting your vision is to have regular eye health checks. Early detection saves sight, as glaucoma does not have any symptoms in its earliest stages but can be detected in an eye test.As soon as it starts to impact your vision, those affects cannot be reversed and so early treatment is essential.

And Optegra’s NHS treatment centres are helping to provide free, accessible treatment.

What is glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a common sight-threatening condition where the pressure of the eye causes damage to the optic nerve, leading to blurred vision or rainbow-coloured circles in vision. It can occur at any age but is more common in older adults.

In the UK it is estimated that around 2% of people over the age of 40 have open angle glaucoma, the most common form. The prevalence increases with age, affecting 10% of those over 75 [1]. Without treatment it will progress and vision will deteriorate.

What are the symptoms?

Approximately 700,000 people in the UK have glaucoma [2] with many cases undiagnosed due to the lack of symptoms in the early stages. This is why it is known as the “silent thief of sight.”

Regular eye examinations are crucial for early detection and management, however depending on the type and stages of the disease some symptoms may be experienced:

• Patchy blind spots in your side (peripheral) or central vision, often in both eyes
• Tunnel vision in the advanced stages
• Nausea/pain/haloes around lights and reduced vision (Angle-closure glaucoma)

What are the options for treatment?

Treatment for glaucoma can’t reverse any loss of vision that has already occurred but it can help stop your vision getting worse. Options include eye drops, laser therapy and surgery.

Is glaucoma hereditary?

Twin and population studies have identified glaucoma can be hereditary, with family history being a significant risk factor, particularly for primary open-angle glaucoma.

People with a family link to glaucoma are at a greater risk of developing the disease themselves. If you have glaucoma, your siblings or children may be up to 10 times more likely to also develop it.

Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon, and glaucoma lead at Optegra, Mr Robert Petrarca, explains: “Optegra is supporting Glaucoma Awareness Month to help highlight the treatment options available to patients. The treatment pathway can vary for glaucoma patients, from those whose condition is stable and low-risk and who are regularly monitored at their community optometrist, to those with more complex, high-risk cases who need surgical intervention or treatment at a Trust hospital.

“However, there is a large cohort of patients in the middle who need to be monitored by glaucoma specialists and this is where we at Optegra can help.”

Optegra’s free NHS glaucoma services means that patients whose condition has changed can be monitored and reviewed by expert surgeons and offered treatment as necessary. These are patients who need a specialist, which cannot always be provided by their local optician practice, and to date have had no option but to be put on waiting lists for their Trust hospital.

Mr Petrarca continues: “With this monitoring, review and treatment service, we will only need to refer those who need complex trabeculectomy surgery on to Trusts - which means speedier access to treatment, as well as helping relieve Trust waiting lists for glaucoma.”

For more information visit: https://www.optegra.com/eye-conditions/glaucoma/

Optegra Eye Health Care is a specialist provider of ophthalmic services. Established in 2007, with its first hospital opening in 2008, it has completed over one million eye procedures from its 78 eye hospitals across the UK, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Holland.

As well as providing private vision correction treatments – from lens replacement and laser eye surgery to implantable contact lenses – Optegra treats cataract surgery both privately and through its partnership with the NHS. Optegra also treats medical conditions AMD and glaucoma; and has launched the first ever treatment for people with the Dry form of AMD.

Optegra brings together leading-edge research, medical expertise and state-of-the-art surgical equipment. It performs more than 170,000 treatments annually, both private and publicly funded. Its top ophthalmic surgeons are renowned for their areas of expertise, offering excellent clinical outcomes and great patient service.

[1] Glaucoma UK

[2] Royal College of Ophthalmologists, 2022