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"Preventing Blindness Through Screening"
Please click the above link to view a lecture on the importance of glaucoma screenings given by
Dr. Eve J. Higginbotham. The video may take a minute or so to load into your browser. |
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| Glaucoma is a group of diseases that damage the optic nerve and can lead to blindness. The most common form of glaucoma affects about 3,000,000 Americans. It is important to realize that glaucoma often has no symptoms, until vision has been permanently decreased. |
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| No. Once a person has developed glaucoma, treatment may stop the ongoing damage, but continued observation and treatment is necessary in most cases. Any damage that has been done to the vital optic nerve cannot be repaired. With early treatment, you can often protect your eyes against serious vision loss and blindness. |
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• African Americans are Five to Seven Times More Likely to Develop Glaucoma
• Individuals of Hispanic Origin
• Anyone Over the Age of 40
• Anyone with a Family History
of Glaucoma
• Anyone with Diabetes and/or
High Blood Pressure |
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| Yes. With early treatment, you can usually protect your eyes against serious vision loss and blindness. |
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No. However if glaucoma is detected early, the damage can be stopped before any
significant damage has been done to the optic nerve. |
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Early discovery is the key to successfully controlling glaucoma. Physicians have developed a series of quick and painless tests to detect glaucoma before it begins
to damage your sight. These tests involve measuring the eye pressure and examining the optic nerve. A glaucoma screening, while not definitive, can indicate early signs associated with glaucoma. |
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| No. You can be screened for glaucoma in less than ten minutes. |
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| No. The tests are painless and they leave no after-effects. We typically use the non-invasive, state-of-the art Frequency Doubling Technology (FDT) machine as a diagnostic tool. The results of your tests will be provided to you as soon as possible. |
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| Contact an eye care professional immediately. This is VITAL. The sooner you begin treatment, the better. For about 90% of patients, sight can be preserved if glaucoma is discovered and treated early enough by the precise and faithful use of eye drops, laser treatment and sometimes surgery. |
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| Effective January 1, 2002, the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus successfully passed H.R. 5543 making annual glaucoma screenings a paid benefit under Medicare coverage. |
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