WORLD GLAUCOMA WEEK

The World Glaucoma Week beckons!
Here is a little information on the week.
World Glaucoma Week 2015 (March 8-14, 2015)

Introduction

World Glaucoma Week (WGW) is a joint global initiative of the World Glaucoma Association (WGA) and the World Glaucoma Patients Association (WGPA) to raise awareness of glaucoma, what it does to sight, and how it might affect you.

What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that cause progressive damage of the optic nerve at the point where it leaves the eye to carry visual information to the brain. If left untreated, most types of glaucoma progress (without warning or obvious symptoms to the patient) towards gradually worsening visual damage and possible blindness.
This visual damage is mostly irreversible, and this has led to glaucoma being described as the "sneak thief of sight".

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, yet 90% could have been prevented. Nine million persons globally are blind from it and this number will rise as the population ages and increases. Owing to the silent progression of the disease - at least in its early stages - up to 50% of affected persons in developed countries are not aware of having glaucoma and are receiving no treatment. This number rises to 90% in less developed parts of the world.

Historical Background of the World Glaucoma Week

The first ever WGW was held on March 7-13, 2008 and the event has had a successful run for the past years. Hundreds of local initiatives took place in countries circling the globe. They all shared the same goal of raising glaucoma awareness and promoting the need to get tested.

World Glaucoma Week 2015 Theme: “B.I.G -Beat Invisible Glaucoma Campaign”

As Preparations are underway for the 6th World Glaucoma Week March 8-14, 2015, the World Glaucoma Association (WGA) and the World Glaucoma Patient Association (WGPA) work jointly to expand global awareness of this Sneak Thief of Sight: they will launch the 'B-I-G – Beat Invisible Glaucoma' campaign. To achieve a B-I-G network of global glaucoma awareness, the WGA-WGPA team emphasizes that even in 2014, too many people are unaware they have the disease and are receiving no treatment.

Activities:

In order to make the 2015 edition of World Glaucoma Week a success, the WGA-WGPA encourages the conduct of the following activities:

· Organize a screening event in your local institute/hospital

· Give a lecture to a patient support group

·  Participate in radio & TV shows to talk about glaucoma and to answer questions

·  Contact newspapers to publish information about glaucoma
 

Dr. Wakiente O. Omubo


Links to further reading on Glaucoma:

http://www.m.webmd.com/eye-health/guide/glaucoma-eyes

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glaucoma

Cool.