Center offers free glaucoma
exams
Screenings now
available on campus
Cougar News Services
Approximately 116,000 Texans have glaucoma
without knowing it, according to statistics from Prevent Blindness Texas.
When discovered, the potentially blinding
disorder can be treated to prevent any permanent vision loss, but it induces
so few symptoms that people often may not recognize its presence.
For that reason, the University Eye Institute
at the UH College of Optometry is providing free glaucoma screenings this
week to promote Glaucoma Awareness Month.
The screenings have been held since Jan.
22 and will be available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Friday, Jan. 26.
Walk-ins are welcome. All screenings take
place at the University Eye Institute, 4901 Calhoun. Screenings can also
be done by appointment Jan. 29.
Rich R. Risma/The Daily
Cougar
Keith Danz gets his eyes
checked by student clinician Carmon Lampley during the free glaucoma screenings
being offered this week at the University Eye Center.
The 10- to 15-minute procedure allows doctors
to test a patient's eye pressure and field of vision. The screening also
includes an evaluation of the internal and external markings of the eye
and a check of family history with the disorder.
"If glaucoma is detected before extensive
symptoms develop, patients might prevent serious vision loss," said Charlotte
Pennye, program director for the Prevent Blindness Houston branch, in a
press release.
Glaucoma is a disorder that causes damage
to the cells that make up the optic nerve. The optic nerve is responsible
for transmitting visual information from the eye to the brain.
The damage is progressive, with loss of
peripheral vision first, followed by reductions in central vision.
The absence of symptoms in the early stages
of the disorder can cause a lack of awareness about the disease, which
can lead to seriously reduced vision or even blindness if not detected.
Those considered high-risk for the disorder
are African-Americans, people related to someone with glaucoma, Caucasians
over the age of 50, very nearsighted people and diabetics.
"When detected and treated, vision loss
can often be halted or slowed," Pennye said. "One of the greatest things
we can do to help prevent blindness from glaucoma is to make people aware
of the disease."
For more information about screenings at
the University Eye Institute, call (713) 743-2000.
