Glaucoma & Blindness

Video Transcript

"Well, let's talk a little bit, about who can go blind from glaucoma. I think that when patients hear the word, that they've developed glaucoma, there's this level of fear and anxiety, in terms, of will I lose my eyesight, will I go blind? Currently, the estimates that are in the U.S, that approximately a hundred, a hundred and twenty thousand patients, have gone blind from glaucoma. That represents somewhere close to about ten to twelve percent of patients, who have glaucoma. The reality is, that people who go blind from glaucoma, are typically, individuals that have gone years, and years, and years in their lifetime ,without just routine, comprehensive eye care, and as a result, the glaucoma, that has been found in their eye, is so advanced. And so later in life, that it could have been addressed much earlier in life, had they had the ability to access eye care. So I think one is, that people go blind, because of lack of access to eye care, because the patients who finally go in for their eye, to have their eyes examined, may have had a case of glaucoma, that could have been dealt with earlier in their life, had they had the ability to go in, to have their eyes examined, so I think that is one group of patients. Another group of patients that could lose their eyesight, and potentially have blindness from glaucoma, are folks that are unable to keep up with the regimen of these eye drops, and so it's really important to take the medication that your eye doctor gives you. The eyedrops to help manage your glaucoma, because that's really the only way that you can keep yourself from losing eyesight. We've got to use those eye drops. We have to use them regularly. We have to use them ongoingly, and by doing that, that allows the pressure in your eye to stay low. That allows the nerve in your eye to stay healthy, and it keeps your vision, your peripheral vision intact, and that's how the doctors can help treat your glaucoma, and help insure that you don't lose eyesight, and I think that there's a third group of people, that can lose eyesight and glaucoma, and those individuals that go blind from glaucoma, are typically, ones that are lost to follow up. So they have glaucoma, and they've been treated for their glaucoma for a number of years, and for one reason or another, they move, or they choose to not go back for their eye care, and they lose their insurance, and are unable to afford going back for follow up eye care, and as a result of that, what's unable to be determined, is the effectiveness of the treatment, and so, eventually the treatment stops. And so then we've got the issue, of not having appropriate medicine on board, or perhaps that medicine stopped working as well, and so, had they been able to go back for some follow up care later on, potentially a second medication could have been used, or a potentially referral for some surgery, could have happened. So in general, those individuals that go blind from glaucoma, are typically not like you. They are not individuals that are well informed, that are taking a proactive approach, that are taking care of their glaucoma. In my opinion, it's typically those individuals, that are either lost to follow up care, or there's a compliance issue at place, so there's such a small amount of people who go blind from glaucoma, that as long as you're getting follow up care at your doctor, and taking the medicine, I think you're on the right track."