Lesley Cree Opticians supports National Glaucoma Awareness
What is Glaucoma? It effects 64 million people worldwide, most of us have heard of it, but few of us actually know what is?
Glaucoma is an eye condition where the optic nerve, which connects your eye to your brain, becomes damaged. If not detected and treated early on, it can lead to loss of vision.
Our eyes are inflated by pressure, and much as we should check our blood pressure or the tyre pressures on our car, it is imperative that we apply the same health checks to our eyes, because an increase in eye pressure can cause irreversible damage to the optic nerve leading to loss of vision and Glaucoma.
This year’s National Glaucoma Awareness campaign is to educate people about the importance of eye pressure as part of a regular eye health check, as raised pressure can indicate Glaucoma. If detected early, Glaucoma can be managed and useful sight can usually be maintained throughout the remainder of your life.
A simple to visit to your local opticians is all you need to check if you are at risk of glaucoma. Your optician can conduct three simple test which include:
1. Looking at the appearance of the main nerve in the eye, called the optic nerve (ophthalmoscopy)
2. Measuring the pressure in the eye, (tonometry)
3. Checking the field of vision (perimetry).
Lesley Cree Opticians is keen to help support this year’s Nation Glaucoma Awareness Campaign. Commenting, Lesley Cree said “Unfortunately people have such limited knowledge about the health of their eyes. Sadly, people check their eye health only when a problem arises and in most cases, especially in Glaucoma sufferers, a significant amount of vision will already have been lost, and it can never be recovered.”
Glaucoma effects 600,000 in the UK so it really is essential to regularly check the health of your eyes.
To book an eye health check appointment, please visit our practice or call 0115 933 2999 to speak to one of our friendly members of staff and make sure you are not at risk of Glaucoma.