Glaucoma leading cause of preventable blindness in the U.K., eye experts say.
The BBC (10/9) reported that, according to eye experts, “up to half a million people in England and Wales risk losing their sight because they have undiagnosed glaucoma.” The condition, which is the “leading cause of preventable blindness in the U.K.,” is “caused by too much pressure inside the eye,” and can affect “those who are already short-sighted, the over 40s, people with diabetes, and those of African-Caribbean origin.” A recent survey by the pharmaceutical company “Pfizer suggests a third of people do not know” the symptoms of glaucoma. In fact, “fewer than half of those surveyed had undergone an eye test within the last five to 10 years, with one in five saying they would only visit the optician if a problem was obvious.” Meanwhile, “a simulation developed at City University in London shows how badly glaucoma can affect driving” by creating “a ‘tunnel vision’ effect.” The article features a video which depicts “how a driver experiences tunnel vision.”