The Nystagmus Network is marking Glaucoma Awareness Week 2022, the UK’s national week to raise awareness of glaucoma. The theme for this year is ‘Put your sight in the spotlight’, and we are supporting the initiative by encouraging everyone to have a regular sight test.
Glaucoma is the name of a group of eye diseases that damage the optic nerve, responsible for transferring visual information from the eye to the brain. Damage to the optic nerve can result in sight loss and even blindness. Over 700,000 people in the UK have glaucoma, and half of them don’t know they have it. Anyone can develop the disease, though some people are at higher risk, including those with a family history of glaucoma. The disease is fairly rare below the age of 40, but the risk rises over the age of
40 and continues to increase as we get older. One in 10 people aged 75 or over are affected by glaucoma. People of African-Caribbean origin are also four times more likely to develop the disease than people of European origin.
Glaucoma can be symptomless, meaning a large percent of the peripheral vision can sometimes be lost without even noticing, due to the brain filling in any gaps in vision. For most people, the signs of glaucoma are first spotted at a routine eye test.
Glaucoma UK’s Chief Executive, Joanne Creighton, says“This Glaucoma Awareness
Week, we want people to put their sight in the spotlight by encouraging them to get their
eyes regularly tested. With an ageing population and modern technology making earlier
detection possible, more and more of us will find ourselves affected by glaucoma. If you
are living with or have recently been diagnosed with the disease, Glaucoma UK is here to
support you.”
For more information about this year’s Glaucoma Awareness Week, visit www.glaucoma.uk/glaucoma-awareness-week or join the conversation on social media using #GlaucomaAwarenessWeek.
