Community

Staffordshire PCT has population of about 604,000. It is estimated that about 6% of the population over the age of 40 yrs old, may have or likely to suffer glaucoma. Tamworth alone has an expected rate of about 9,000 potential sufferers. It is with this concern in mind that lead Dr Philip Ballard- Senior GP and Clinical Medical Director of NHS-SSPCT, Mr. Abdul Rauf Lead Consultant ophthalmologist and Mr. Chaaban Zeidan Specialist Consultant Optometrist,  to establish the Tamworth Glaucoma Community Centre  (TGCC) at 1A Silver Street- Tamworth. The Community Glaucoma centre will be involve all accredited optometrists and will welcome any individual with glaucoma concerns. Accredited Optometrists will be allocated after strict training and following NICE guideline to ensure that full cover of glaucoma screening can take place at convenience location to the patient.    Why Glaucoma?

Glaucoma nick named as “The silent stealer of eyesight”. The loss of vision is very insidiously gradual starting from the extreme periphery of the vision that patient is largely unaware of the visual loss. What is most tragic; is that vision loss and eventual blindness due to glaucoma can be irreversible. Once glaucoma gets a hold, support and observation through medication and/or surgery can at best preserve the remaining eyesight of the patient. Visual loss is like candle burnt, once burnt it can never be restored.  Glaucoma is a result of build-up of fluid within the eye due to several mechanisms that may go wrong. This eventually leads to an increase in pressure within the eye. The eye ball has a tough except the optic nerve disc leading vision neurons to the brain. High pressure pushes on the sensitive optic nerve resulting in irreversible damage.


                           

Types of Glaucoma

Chronic Open Angle glaucoma
Most of the offenders- hardly any symptoms, the patient is largely unaware that there is a progressive loss of vision. The only way of accurate diagnosis is a thorough eye examinationscarried out annually by specialist optometrist or at a glaucoma centre/ clinic.

Congenital Glaucoma
This is visible literally from birth. Since the eye of an infant is more elastic than that of an adult, the increase of pressure leads to the eye bulging out leading to cloudy cornea, enlarged eye, and strabismus.
Acute Angle Closure Glaucoma
This is a sudden onset. Blurred vision, severe pain, rainbow haloes around light, nausea and vomiting are the immediate symptoms, Headaches and eyebrow ache. Unless medical attention is provided immediately, blindness can result in a day or two.

Anybody over the age of 40 years is susceptible to Glaucoma. That’s why it is advisable that all people above 40 yrs of age should undergo detailed ophthalmological examination annually. Those with family history, Afro-Caribbean, Diabetics, migraine sufferers and Hypertensive sufferers are more predisposed to glaucoma and annual eye examination should become their normal activity.

Remedies

Glaucoma is usually controlled with eye drops or oral medication given in various combinations. These medications act to decrease the eye pressure either by assisting flow of fluid outside the eye or by decreasing the amount of fluid entering the eye. If medication is poorly tolerated or not effective in controlling the intra-ocular pressure, surgery is done to create an artificial drainage channel for the fluid to drain out.