To mark the International Women’s Day, Hans Foundation Eye Care launched an initiative “Glaucoma Awareness on Wheels” on Tuesday to make the people at large aware of the spread of the dreaded disease which leads to blindness if it remains undiagnosed.
Things look serious as a study has revealed that in India large numbers of glaucoma patients go undiagnosed at an early stage, which leads to higher number of blindness. Population-based studies suggest that more than 90% of Glaucoma cases in India remain undiagnosed. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the World and third most common cause of blindness in India.
It is not for nothing that the disease is called the ‘sneak thief of sight’. Vision lost to it can hardly be restored unlike the cataract. The initiative of The Hans Foundation Eye Care is to screen more than 3000 people in the district of Haridwar as the first step.
The week- long programme would see vehicles positioned at various locations in Haridwar to create awareness on Glaucoma and checking the level of Intra Ocular Pressure, which is the easiest way to detect onset of Glaucoma.
The event was inaugurated through lamp lighting by ADM Roorkee, Mangesh Ghildiyal and the president of Hans Foundation Hospitals ADM Roorkee Maj Gen (Retd.) AV Balakrishnan.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Balkrishnan said, “The Hans Foundation Eye Care will launch vehicles to move around and be positioned at various locations in Haridwar to create awareness on Glaucoma and to screen general public by checking the level of Intra Ocular Pressure, which is the easiest way to detect onset or presence of Glaucoma. Our staff will also distribute leaflets and make public announcements to spread awareness about Glaucoma.”
Mangesh Ghildiyal flagged off the ‘Glaucoma Awareness on Wheels’. Vice- president of Clinical Operations of Centre Dr Rajan Pradhan, said, “Glaucoma usually is a chronic disease with very little symptoms and 40% of vision may have been lost before the patient visits the doctor for the first time. Hence it is also called the ‘Sneak thief of sight’. He added that unlike cataract that is 100% curable, vision lost to Glaucoma couldn’t be restored. “Medicines or surgery can only arrest the disease, but cannot cure it because we do not know the actual causative agent. Intra Ocular Pressure (IOP) is the only parameter that can be controlled,” he said.
“We ultimately aim to reach to every house in Uttarakhand with quality and affordable eye care and educate them about the diseases and the timely treatments,” said Balakrishnan. To generate awareness as part of the campaign, the centre has also scripted and visualized a mascot, a ‘Drishti Chor’ which will depict how Glaucoma swiftly and silently enters the lives of individuals.