National Eye Institute stresses importance of vision exams to protect against glaucoma
Published: Jan. 19, 2023 at 12:20 PM EST
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The National Eye Institute has named January as Glaucoma Awareness Month to tell more people why they should get a comprehensive exam to protect their vision.
“The only way to check for glaucoma is to get a comprehensive dilated eye exam. There’s no cure for glaucoma, but early treatment can often stop it from damaging people’s vision,” said the institute on their website.
Glaucoma doesn’t have early symptoms, and half of the people with the glaucoma don’t know they have it. It is also the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in the United States.
Some people are at higher risk of developing glaucoma, such as:
- Anyone over the age of 60
- Black/African American people over age 40
- Hispanic/Latino people
- People with a family history of glaucoma
You can find more resources on glaucoma on the NEI website.
Copyright 2023 WECT. All rights reserved.
