A health expert and  National Coordinator of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Social Welfare Network Initiative (SWNI), Mr. Emmanuel Osemeka has explained how ignorance of the difference between glaucoma and other eye diseases, such as cataract causes many Nigerians affected by glaucoma to go blind.

Fielding questions in an interview with newsmen, Osemeke revealed that “for anyone who has glaucoma, starting from whenever it begins to develop till you are 40 years or above, there is no symptom.  And the only time you begin to realize that you have it is when you are above 40.  By this time the victim has lost a very large portion of his vision and there is no surgery that can correct it.  It is irreversible”, warned Osemeka .

He went on to state that the only thing that can be done at this stage is to try to regularize the eye pressure and once that is done, fine, but certainty, the person will go blind

Osemeke warned that in order for people not to get to this situation, his NGO carries out sensitization and awareness campaigns plus free screening and treatment on glaucoma.  The national coordinator of SWNI maintained that, “If you screen early and discover that you have the disease, then we can begin to treat you”.  He made it clear that the treatment does not correct the vision, what it does is to stabilize the progression of glaucoma and once this is done the pressure on the eye is reduced and it becomes easier for the patient to manage.

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