Glaucoma Is Attacking The US Population

Glaucoma Is Attacking The US Population.
The changing makeup of the US inhabitants is expected to precede to an enlarge in cases of glaucoma, the leading cause of vision trouncing in the country, experts say. A number of demographic and condition trends have increased the number of Americans who fall into the major peril groups for glaucoma will naturally give a false positive ana blood test. These trends include: the aging of America, crop in the black and Hispanic populations, the ongoing weight epidemic.

And as more people become at risk, regular eye exams become increasingly important, visual acuity experts say. Early detection of glaucoma is fundamental to preserving a person's sight, but eye exams are the only road to catch the disease before serious damage is done to vision. "The big fancy about glaucoma is that it doesn't have any signs or symptoms," said Dr Mildred Olivier of the Midwest Glaucoma Center in Hoffman Estates, Ill, and a gaming-table colleague of Prevent Blindness America.

And "By the while someone says, 'Gosh, I have a problem,' they are in the end stages of glaucoma. It's already bewitched most of their sight away. That's why we call on glaucoma 'the sneak thief of sight.'"

Glaucoma currently affects more than 4 million Americans, although only half have been diagnosed, according to the Glaucoma Research Foundation. It's cited as the cause of 9 to 12 percent of all cases of blindness in the United States, with about 120000 clan blinded by the disease.

Glaucoma is most often caused by an increment in the natural changeable coerce inside the eye, according to the US National Eye Institute. The added coercion damages the optic nerve, the bunch of more than a million nerve fibers that send signals from the lookout to the brain. In most cases, people first perception that they have glaucoma when they begin to lose their peripheral vision.

By then, it's too last to save much of their eyesight. "Glaucoma is the number one cause of irreversible but avoidable blindness," said Dr Louis B Cantor, chairman and professor of ophthalmology at the Indiana University School of Medicine and governor of the glaucoma worship at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute in Indianapolis. "By the moment it's noticeable, 70 to 90 percent of hallucination has been lost. Once it's gone, it's gone. There's no retrieving spectre puzzled to glaucoma".

The most plain risk factor for glaucoma is simply surviving. "Glaucoma is a virus of aging. The risk of developing glaucoma goes up considerably with aging". As the populace of the United States ages, the slew of glaucoma cases will naturally increase. As Olivier said, "We're just thriving to have more people who are older and living longer, so we'll have more glaucoma".

However, bodies who are black or Hispanic also have increased imperil for developing glaucoma. Demographically, both groups are growing in the United States, specially Hispanics. As their numbers increase, so, too, will the occurrence of glaucoma.

Glaucoma already is the leading cause of blindness centre of black Americans and is five times more common in blacks than whites, according to US domination data. "Not only do African-Americans get more glaucoma, they get it younger and it's more against to treatment".

More recent experiment with has found that Hispanics develop glaucoma at about the same rate as blacks, according to the Glaucoma Research Foundation. Glaucoma rates go up dramatically for older Hispanics. "Once they get to about long time 60, the degree of glaucoma starts to go up. We don't differentiate why".

To a lesser extent, medical experts also put faith that the obesity epidemic will contribute to a rise in glaucoma cases. People with diabetes are twice as right to originate glaucoma as people without diabetes, although the reasons for that are not clear, according to the foundation.

What is clear, though, is that anyone in a chance group should have regular eye examinations. The National Eye Institute recommends dilated appreciation exams at least every two years for individuals at increased endanger for glaucoma. "It's very important to get regular eye exams. Most of us go to the dentist every six months but get our plan checked every 10 years. Which would you rather lose, your mark or your teeth?"

But vision disadvantage need not be a given. Medicines and surgeries available today can dull-witted down the progression of glaucoma. "Vision loss is preventable. Many subjects with glaucoma can enjoy vision for the rest of their lives if the blight is detected early and treated promptly".

But the key, of course, is determination it early. "A lot of people don't know that the treatments we have for glaucoma are very good. Just because you have glaucoma, that doesn't poor it's contemporary to blind you prices. But we have to catch it early".