Share with a friendApril 30, 2007 – San Francisco, CA - In honor of “Healthy Vision Month,” taking place in May, EyeCare America encourages people to call its Glaucoma EyeCare Program. Healthy Vision Month is an annual observance designed to raise awareness of the importance of eye care for those at risk of developing eye and vision problems. This year, NEI is encouraging individuals to get an eye exam and to spread the word about glaucoma. To keep vision in your future, know the facts and see an eye care professional for a dilated eye exam.
In a healthy eye, fluid is constantly being made and drained through a microscopic, drainage canal. When something blocks or prevents this natural drainage, the pressure inside the eye goes up. Glaucoma is often caused by increased pressure that can develop when the fluids in the eye are not draining properly. This condition eventually damages the nerve that connects the eye to the brain (the optic nerve) and leads to loss of vision.
In honor of Healthy Vision Month 2007, EyeCare America, the public service foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, encourages those without insurance to take advantage of its national Glaucoma EyeCare Program. The program offers glaucoma eye exams for those at increased risk of glaucoma. To see if you, a loved one or a friend, is eligible to receive a referral for an eye exam and care, call 1-800-391-EYES (3937), 24 hours a day, every day, year round. All eligible callers receive a referral to one of EyeCare America’s 7,200 volunteer ophthalmologists.
"A dilated eye examination is essential to protecting the vision of those at higher risk for glaucoma," noted Anne L. Coleman, M.D., Ph.D., Frances and Ray Stark Professor of Ophthalmology at UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute and chair of the glaucoma subcommittee for NEI's National Eye Health Education Program. "If glaucoma is detected early, treatments such as medication, conventional surgery, or laser surgery can slow or stop vision loss. High pressure inside the eye, which may be associated with glaucoma, does not by itself mean that you have glaucoma. Only a dilated eye exam and evaluation of the optic nerve can tell you that."
*Those eligible for a referral through the glaucoma program receive a glaucoma eye exam and the initiation of treatment, if deemed necessary. Uninsured patients receive the above care at no charge.
