World Glaucoma Week
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World Glaucoma Week is a global initiative of the World Glaucoma Association (WGA) in order to raise awareness on glaucoma. Through a series of engaging worldwide activities, patients, eye-care providers, health officials and the general public are invited to contribute to sight preservation. The goal is to alert everyone to have regular eye (and optic nerve) checks in order to detect glaucoma as early as possible.
Did you know?
- Most people with glaucoma are not aware of it: most glaucoma patients have zero symptoms.
- Catch the disease early and you have a great chance of preserving your vision for the years to come.
What is glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a chronic, progressive, degenerative disorder of the optic nerve that produces characteristic visual field damage. Glaucoma is the second cause of blindness, and importantly: it is irreversible.
It is estimated that around 80 million people have glaucoma worldwide. Approximately 50% of the individuals with glaucoma are unaware that they have the disease, and this number may be even higher in underdeveloped countries. This is because, in its early stages, glaucoma is asymptomatic. If untreated, glaucoma may progress to blindness.
Periodic testing allows the early diagnosis to prevent visual disability.
