11pc people at risk: Expert
World Glaucoma Week-2017
BSS
Glaucoma has emerged as a public health problem in Bangladesh as 11 per cent people are at risk for glaucoma, a health expert told BSS yesterday.
In most cases, glaucoma is associated with higher-than-normal pressure inside the eye - a condition called ocular hypertension, Associate Professor (glaucoma) of National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital Dr Iftekhar Md Munir said.
But it also can occur when intraocular pressure (IOP) is normal.
If untreated or uncontrolled, glaucoma first causes peripheral vision loss and eventually can lead to blindness, he added.
World Glaucoma Week-2017 that began on March 12, which is being observed in Bangladesh as elsewhere in the world aiming to create mass awareness to protect the people from the disease, reportsBSS.
As part of the week-long programme, National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital will bring a rally on the ground of the hospital tomorrow.
After the rally, a free Glaucoma screening camp will be held at the hospital to provide treatment to the people.
According to the health experts, the term glaucoma refers to a group of disease that has in common characteristics of optic neuropathy with associated visualfunction loss.
Although elevated intraocular pressure is one of the major risk factor, they said, adding it is one of the major causes of irreversible legal blindness in patients over 40 years of age in developed countries.
In a preliminary report of glaucoma prevalence survey carried out by Bangladesh Eye Care Society (BECS), the incidence of glaucoma was 2.8 per cent in the population above 35 years of age in the country.
