Protecting the windows to the world

Mar 13, 2012 Editorial

Today is recognized internationally as World Glaucoma Day in tribute to the many people who have gone blind or those who are rapidly losing their sight to the disease. The number of people so afflicted worldwide is staggering and while this disease has been around for as long as mankind, there is no cure.
The World Health Organisation has found that glaucoma is the second largest cause of blindness after cataracts. Unfortunately, glaucoma does not present signs and symptoms. Many people do not know that they are affected or afflicted until they begin to lose their vision.
What makes this disease one of the most unfortunate to attack mankind is the fact that many will lose their sight. People who all their lives had been self-reliant, accustomed to seeing colours and the many objects in the world, will be locked away in a world of darkness; will become helpless and in some cases will be victims of abuse.
The world can be a cruel place for the sighted and much worse for the unsighted. It has taken decades for this country to have government buildings designed to accommodate people with disabilities. It has taken even longer for the rest of society to recognize that the unsighted need special care and attention.
Many have cringed as they watch the unsighted attempt to cross the streets of Guyana amidst traffic. Many of the modern day drivers are in a perpetual hurry and are therefore very uncaring. Perhaps many blind people do not use the streets or it could be that fate is very protective.
Nevertheless it is a frightening thought that the things that sighted people take for granted soon become things that the victim of glaucoma would lose forever.
Casual analysis has shown that people pay less attention to care for their eyes, most aptly described as the windows to the world. The result is that those afflicted with eye disease do not realize what they really have until they lose it.
Sadly, while blindness through glaucoma is more likely to strike people in the older age bracket, it has been known to affect people much younger, forcing them to make adjustments that they never thought that they would have had to make.
In Guyana, people are not inclined to pay visits to the doctor unless they are really ill. This attitude has led to many diseases going undetected until it is too late. The medical community knows this and is now trying to get the message out that eye tests should be done regularly.
But increasingly, the message is falling on deaf ears. The increasing rate of illiteracy in Guyana is not helping. There are other means of getting the message across, but these means are often countered by the silly belief that we are all different, and that some of us will never be affected.
The upshot is that the medical authorities know that they must always ensure that help is there, even for the ignorant. Knowing the implications of glaucoma has caused the government to hire an expert who will be there at all times to provide a service for those who need it. He will aid in the early detection of glaucoma and help arrest the onset.
Guyana with a high incidence of diabetes is expected to have a similarly high incidence of glaucoma. There is no distinction between men and women, but there is a distinction between the races. People of African ancestry are more likely to be afflicted with glaucoma by age 40.
One would expect that these people would be the ones to pay regular visits to the opthalmologist, but they are not.
What they should realize is that the older they become the harder it is to adjust to their new condition. Blindness is not an easy state and it certainly affects the individual in ways that are unimagined. Today is a day when the world focuses on glaucoma. There is therefore no better time for all to pay some attention to the eyes—the windows to the world.

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Protecting the windows to the world

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