A walk held to create awareness about glaucoma

Visakhapatnam: As part of the ‘World Glaucoma Week’ observance, LV Prasad Eye Institute is organising talks and interactive sessions with experts, among other programmes.

In line with it, a walk was organised at RK Beach on Sunday. Speaking on the occasion, experts underlined the need to build awareness about early detection of glaucoma and seek medical intervention for its prevention.

According to global estimates, the number of patients with glaucoma is expected to rise to 111.8 million from the present 76 million. Glaucoma is an eye problem associated with increased eye pressure and it is characterised by damage to the optic nerve, leading to irreversible blindness, explained the experts.

Steroids, commonly used in various medications to treat inflammation-related conditions such as asthma, arthritis, and eye allergies, can have detrimental effects on ocular health when misused. In particular, the prolonged use of steroids can lead to steroid-induced glaucoma, a condition that raises intraocular pressure and can result in irreversible vision loss, they informed. “In a recent study published, out of 4,062 children with ocular allergy, 2.2 per cent had steroid-induced glaucoma, and more than 30 percent of these children were blind by the time they reached us. Most of these children were using steroids without any prescriptions,” mentioned Dr Divya Dangeti, consultant ophthalmologist at LVPEI’s GMR Varalakshmi campus.