Raising awareness for glaucoma (From Bournemouth Echo)

Raising awareness for glaucoma

8:00am Wednesday 10th March 2010

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WHEN eight-year-old Jack Riley told his mum Jackie that he needed his eyes checked, she thought it was because some of his classmates had started wearing glasses.

“I thought he just wanted to be the same as them but he kept on about it so I eventually got him checked out,” explains Jackie.

“The optician said it was something he hadn’t seen before and referred him to hospital and he was there for three days.”

Jackie was told that her son had an inflammation of the eye and was given eye drops which appeared to be controlling the condition until six weeks ago.

“His eye suddenly went really red and I ended up bringing him to the emergency ward and that’s when he was referred to Mr Mahesh Ramchandani.”

Mr Ramchandani is a leading opthalmologist consultant who works at Nuffield Health Bournemouth Hospital and the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

He explained that Jack had a secondary glaucoma caused by the eye inflammation.

“In most cases glaucoma is when the pressure inside the eye gets too high. These days there is a lot we can do to control it either through drops, lasers or surgery. We operated on Jack’s left eye and used laser treatment for the right eye.”

Mr Ramchandandi says it’s important to raise awareness of glaucoma because most people don’t know they have got it until it’s too late.

“Although we can’t reverse the sight loss, we can prevent it from getting worse. The surgical treatments used to be quite poor – they had a 50 per cent failure rate about ten years ago. We now have a success rate of up to 94 per cent.”

Tony Newman, 69, from Bournemouth started having sight problems when he was in his teens. His field of vision became blurred and he experienced pains in his eyes but following surgery four years ago he has managed to save the sight in one eye.

“We are well placed to manage glaucoma in Bournemouth,” adds Mr Ramchandani. “We have some of the very latest technology – most of the complex surgical procedures we can do in house.

“Glaucoma affects around 65 million people globally and as the adult population gets older it will become more prevalent so it is important that people are aware and have regular optician checks.

“Nowadays there is no reason why people should lose their sight. As long as it is caught early enough – we can treat it.”

Jackie says her son is already showing signs of improvement. “I was so worried he was going to lose his sight but he is making great progress now and his reading is already much better.”

Fact file

Glaucoma is a group of diseases that damage the optic nerve. If left untreated it can cause irreversible blindness therefore it is essential to receive screening and treatment in the early stages. Risk factors include raised pressure inside the eye, family history and belonging to a susceptible ethnic group.

Nuffield Health Bournemouth Hospital has an extensive ophthalmology department which also treats children from three years upwards. For further information regarding services and availability please contact Julie Frew Customer Services Manager on 01202 702830.

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