Gurgaon: The health department on Friday announced a programme to detect glaucoma cases at the earliest using a non-contact method, and twice a week – on Tuesdays and Fridays – screenings for the disease will be done at two government hospitals in Gurgaon free of cost.
The decision to continue biweekly screenings for glaucoma were made after a week-long programme to raise awareness about the disease began on March 7. A total of 162 people were screened at the Sector-31 polyclinic in the last five days and nine patients were found to suffer from glaucoma.
Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness as 40 per cent of a person’s vision can be lost without them noticing it, experts said. The disease damages the nerve connection between the eye and the brain which in turn leads to slow shrinking of the area of vision and ultimately may progress to complete blindness.
The non-contact method which is being used to screen such patients is known as tonometry. In this process, the internal eye pressure of the patient is measured — this is an important parameter for the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma.
“We will dedicate two days in every week for the screening of glaucoma. Every Friday, people can walk into our Sector 31 polyclinic and on Tuesday they can come to the Sector 10 Civil Hospital to get free eye screening. The testing will be mandatory for family members of those patients who are found to be affected with glaucoma, as this disease has 10-15 per cent higher chances of affecting siblings and children of patients. Glaucoma can be managed if it is detected early. With the help of recent medical interventions, complete vision loss can be avoided,” said Dr Virender Yadavchief medical officer, Gurgaon.
The disease usually affects those with other health issues or with family history of glaucoma, said Dr Priya Sharmawho practises at Sector 31 polyclinic. “Usually, people aged above 40, or those having diabetes, high myopia, inflammation in the eye, are at the risk of glaucoma.”
The decision to continue biweekly screenings for glaucoma were made after a week-long programme to raise awareness about the disease began on March 7. A total of 162 people were screened at the Sector-31 polyclinic in the last five days and nine patients were found to suffer from glaucoma.
Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness as 40 per cent of a person’s vision can be lost without them noticing it, experts said. The disease damages the nerve connection between the eye and the brain which in turn leads to slow shrinking of the area of vision and ultimately may progress to complete blindness.
The non-contact method which is being used to screen such patients is known as tonometry. In this process, the internal eye pressure of the patient is measured — this is an important parameter for the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma.
“We will dedicate two days in every week for the screening of glaucoma. Every Friday, people can walk into our Sector 31 polyclinic and on Tuesday they can come to the Sector 10 Civil Hospital to get free eye screening. The testing will be mandatory for family members of those patients who are found to be affected with glaucoma, as this disease has 10-15 per cent higher chances of affecting siblings and children of patients. Glaucoma can be managed if it is detected early. With the help of recent medical interventions, complete vision loss can be avoided,” said Dr Virender Yadavchief medical officer, Gurgaon.
The disease usually affects those with other health issues or with family history of glaucoma, said Dr Priya Sharmawho practises at Sector 31 polyclinic. “Usually, people aged above 40, or those having diabetes, high myopia, inflammation in the eye, are at the risk of glaucoma.”