How To Prevent Blindness From "The Sneak Thief of Sight"

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

November 13, 1995

Is it possible to go blind in at least one eye before glaucoma is diagnosed? It's very easy according to two surveys done in Germany and the Cayman Islands.

The disturbing news is that the public doesn't know much about glaucoma. Yet this disease is the leading cause of adult blindness in this country. Fortunately there's a simple way to protect yourself from the "Sneak Thief of Sight". And in 1994 where do you think most people get their medical knowledge?

Dr. Norbert Pfeiffer of Mainz, Germany, told eye doctors at the International Congress of Ophthalmology in Toronto "that a lack of knowledge is the main risk factor of glaucoma. But one for which there is an easy cure."

In surveys only half of those questioned mentioned glaucoma when asked to name eye diseases. Only 14 per cent related it to visual loss. And highly educated people were as misinformed as those with lesser education. University graduates give more right answers, but they also give more wrong answers.

Glaucoma is a form of "localized hypertension", but it's not related to blood pressure. The eye is like a balloon filled with water and increased pressure within the eye triggers eventual blindness.

Fluid is continually forced into the eye to nourish the lens and other structures. It normally dribbles out of the eye at a controlled rate through a narrow channel.

But with increasing age this control valve has a greater chance of becoming plugged. This increases the pressure within the eyeball, squeezes blood vessels, decreasing nutrition to the retina and optic nerve at the rear of the eye.

Increased pressure first damages the peripheral retina. Gradually the optic nerve sends smaller and smaller images to the brain. Eventually all peripheral vision is lost, leaving patients with what doctors refer to as "tunnel vision".

This causes patients to view things as if they were looking through a telescope. If treatment is still delayed, central vision will also be destroyed.

Glaucoma strikes in several ways. Children are sometimes born with a structural defect of the eye. Others develop glaucoma because of injury, infection, cataracts and the use of antihypertensive drugs or medication such as cortisone. Ô 0*0*0* Some doctors believe that emotions and personality play a big part in glaucoma. The late Sir Duke© Elder, an internationally renowned London ophthalmologist, wrote that "glaucoma is seen in those who are highly strung and anxious in disposition."

Another English physician noted that following the occupation of the Channel Islands by the Germans a disproportionately large number of island residents developed glaucoma.

We also know that if there is a family history of glaucoma, relatives have about five times the chance of developing this disease. And black people are 10 times more likely to develop glaucoma.

10 per cent of all victims are struck with acute glaucoma. This is a major emergency. If untreated it can destroy the sight within 24 hours.

Some sufferers make a horrendous error. They believe the intense pain, blurring of vision and redness is due to conjunctivitis (pink eye). But severe pain and visual changes are not present in pink eye. In these cases it's imperative to see the doctor immediately.

90 per cent of glaucoma is the chronic type. A few patients will have warning symptoms such as coloured rings around lights, difficulty adjusting to darkened rooms, blurring of vision or failure of new glasses to improve vision. Unfortunately most people are unaware of glaucoma's presence.

The best defence against the ravages of glaucoma is to have regular eye examinations. A painless one©minute test in which a small pressure©sensitive instrument is placed against the front of the eye will detect the disease in 75 per cent of cases. The optic nerve must also be examined for evidence of damage.

When glaucoma is diagnosed eye drops are prescribed to reduce the pressure. Some drops decrease the production of fluid, others help to facilitate drainage.

Surgery is advised for those who cannot take eye drops for medical reasons. Or when drops fail to decrease the pressure. Laser surgery which takes about 15 minutes is increasingly used to facilitate drainage from the eye.

I found one aspect of the German study interesting. Half of those surveyed said their medical knowledge is derived from newspapers.

Hopefully that's true for many people in North America. And if that's the case I trust this column is well read. No one today should lose vision from the "Sneak Thief of Sight".

W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones

Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod