Among the primary causes of blindness and permanent vision impairment in the US, glaucoma ranks first. Unfortunately, glaucoma has no early warning symptoms, thus 50% of those who have it are completely blind to the fact that they have it. To diagnose glaucoma, a thorough dilated eye exam is required. Although glaucoma cannot be cured, it is treatable, and early intervention can often prevent further visual loss. Though glaucoma can affect everyone, individuals who are more likely to get it include over the age of 60, mainly Latinos and Hispanics, people of African descent over the age of 40 and those who have a predisposition to glaucoma. You can have the annual eye exams that are necessary for anyone with a high risk of glaucoma. Doral Health and Wellness has a board-certified Eye Doctor Brooklyn if you are experiencing any problems with your eyes.

Do What You Can to Protect Your Eyesight

In order to prevent vision loss from glaucoma, there are a number of measures you can take.

• An annual dilated eye exam beginning at age 40 is recommended for everyone, regardless of risk factors for developing glaucoma or other eye problems.
• You should receive a full dilated eye exam if you belong to a high-risk category for glaucoma. Glaucoma progression can be slowed by eye medications available by prescription only. Your eye doctor will advise you on how frequently you should return for checkups. For those in high-risk categories, Medicare will pay for an annual glaucoma screening.
• In order to keep your eyesight from deteriorating due to glaucoma, it’s important to keep a healthy weight, regulate your blood pressure, get regular exercise, and not smoke. As a bonus, adopting such habits will reduce your risk of developing diabetes type 2 and other long-term illnesses.
• Since open-angle glaucoma is symptomless and runs in families, it’s important to have those talks to ensure everyone’s eye health.

HELP SPREAD CONSCIOUSNESS

Learn more about glaucoma by having conversations with your loved ones. Glaucoma is responsible for between 9 and 12 percent of all occurrences of blindness in the U.S., leaving roughly 120,000 people blind. In order to help spread knowledge, you can:

• Please tell your friends and family about www.glaucoma.org.
• Share your glaucoma knowledge with loved ones. Do not hide the fact that you have glaucoma. Inform those you care about
• Participate in local activities such as benefit concerts, online panel discussions, or group brainstorming sessions
• Have a free informative pamphlet delivered to either you or a colleague by submitting a request

Follow the Glaucoma Research Foundation on social media to stay up-to-date on the latest glaucoma research, treatment options, news, and information. Tell your loved ones about the signs of glaucoma so they can take preventive measures.

The Ophthalmologist Brooklyn at Doral Health & Wellness can help with any questions or concerns you may have about glaucoma, its effects, or the management of related symptoms. Glaucoma Evaluation, Treatment & Surgery are also services they offer. A variety of bus stops are within a few minutes’ walk of Doral Health & Wellness. If you’d like to contact us, please call (347) 868-1016 or send us a fax at (1347) 384-5690. Address all correspondence to 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11212.