A series of paintings on inspiring figures ranging from Mother Teresa and Subramania Bharati to Mirra Alfassa, or The Mother, who founded Auroville and former President APJ Abdul Kalam has been hosted at the Gandhi Thidal as part of a campaign to raise glaucoma awareness.
The exhibition, jointly organised by Aravind Eye Hospital and Puducherry Municipality, throws light on the “sneak thief of sight”, which is an oft-cited epithet for one of the important causes for irreversible blindness caused by a condition where the visual nerve gets damaged because of the rise in pressure within the eye.
This disease has no warning symptoms till it reaches an advanced stage and because of its irreversible nature, it is important to get screened at the stage.
Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness and the top cause of irreversible blindness in the world. In India, more than 12 million people are affected by this disease, but only 5-10% are aware about it.
S. Sivakumar, Commissioner, Puducherry Municipality, opened the exhibition on Saturday in the presence of V. Govindaradjou, president, Rotary club of Pondicherry Elites.
The exhibition curated by R. Venkatesh, Chief Medical Officer of Aravind Eye Hospital, was hosted as part of the World Glaucoma Week, which is a joint initiative of the World Glaucoma Association and the World Glaucoma Patient Association.
According to slides exhibited at the event, glaucoma more commonly affects people beyond the age of 40. So it is recommended that everyone must have a regular eye checkup after this age.
A positive family history has been 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 very few symptoms in the earlier stages of glaucoma, most people are unaware till the time they lose significant amount of vision. Early diagnosis can reduce progression of the disease and prevent blindness. Since staying informed is the first step to tackle glaucoma, there is a great need to create public awareness on the importance of periodic screening, Aravind Hospital said.
Screening at Jipmer
Jipmer’s Opthalmology department will be screening public and health care workers of the institution for glaucoma in the Eye OPD from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from (Monday) to March 14 (Saturday). The glaucoma screening is done by checking the eye pressure by a non-contact method and examining the optic nerve using a fundus camera, Subashini Kaliaperumal, Professor and Head of Ophthalmology, Jipmer, said.
This year, the special focus is on family members (siblings and offsprings) of glaucoma patients.