Rallies and seminars have marked the World Glaucoma Week thus far.
The “Walk for Glaucoma Awareness” by Jipmer was flagged off by director of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) Mohan Kumar and medical superintendent of Jipmer Ashok Sankararao Badhe.
This year’s theme is “Beat invisible glaucoma”.
The aim of the event was to create awareness among people about the silent nature of glaucoma, an eye disease where the visual nerve gets damaged because of pressure rise within the eye. The disease has no warning symptoms until it reaches an advanced stage and only an ophthalmologist can detect the condition.
According to Jipmer, due to the irreversible nature of the disease, it is important for people to get screened for glaucoma at a stage where there are no symptoms itself, so as to prevent blindness.
People above the age of 40, those with diabetes and hypertension, those with a family history of glaucoma, those who had eye injury or are on steroid drops should definitely get screened for glaucoma for early detection of blindness.
The walk had more than 300 participants, including ophthalmologists from private and government hospitals, postgraduate doctors from various colleges, MBBS students, nursing and optometry students from Jipmer and private institutions and students from community college.
The walk, which started from Gandhi statue, went along Mission Street and finished at Bharathi Park. President of POA and specialist at IGGGH, Sendhamizhan Rene, and secretary of POA and professor and head of Ophthalmology, Jipmer, Subashini Kaliaperumal, organised the walk.
Exhibition held
An exhibition was also held at Gandhi Thidal by Aravind Eye Care. According to doctors, glaucoma mostly affects people above the age of 40. It is therefore recommended that everyone has regular eye checkups after the age.
A positive family history has proven to be a strong risk factor for glaucoma. Strengthening family screening and bringing awareness in families and communities will help reduce blindness due to glaucoma.
As there are few symptoms at the early stages of glaucoma, most people are unaware about the condition until they lose significant amount of vision.
Early diagnosis could reduce the progression of the disease and prevent blindness; and all it took to prevent such a situation was regular eye check ups and screening, experts said. The exhibition at Gandhi Thidal was jointly organised by Aravind Eye Hospital and the Puducherry Municipality. The event was inaugurated by U. Niranjan, Commissioner, GST and Central Excise Department of Puducherry, in the presence of S. Ganessin, Director-cum-Deputy Secretary, Art and Culture, Arjun Ramakrishnan, Commissioner, Puducherry Municipality, M. Pugazhendhi, president, Rotary Club of Pondicherry Elite and Dr. Venkatesh, Chief Medical Officer of Aravind Eye Care.