Early diagnosis is important to prevent glaucoma blindness.

Turkish Ophthalmology Association made important warnings to citizens about the diagnosis and treatment of the disease due to the Glaucoma Week celebrated all over the world. Turkish Ophthalmology Association Head of Glaucoma Unit Prof. Dr. Kıvanç Güngör defined glaucoma as “a disease that occurs as a result of damage to the optic nerve, which initially narrows the visual field, then leads to blindness and progresses insidiously”.

prof. Dr. Kıvanç Güngör also pointed out that they estimate that there are approximately 300 thousand people with glaucoma in the earthquake region, and that their treatments should be followed closely to protect their vision, and said, “We continue our efforts to provide mobile eye examination services in the disaster area.” said.

prof. Dr. Kıvanç Güngör stated that the World Glaucoma Association celebrates the second week of March every year as “World Glaucoma Week” in order to raise awareness about the disease in the society. Expressing that as the Turkish Ophthalmology Association, they aim to publicize the need for basic eye examinations in order to diagnose the disease in the early stages and protect vision in Turkey, Güngör stated that they carry out studies to raise awareness about eye pressure measurement within the scope of the week, and that those who are aware of glaucoma apply to ophthalmologists.

There are approximately 300,000 glaucoma patients in the earthquake area.

Stating that after the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş that affected 11 cities, Prof. Dr. Kıvanç Güngör said, “Based on the estimation that there are 2 million glaucoma patients in our country, we can say that more than 300 thousand of these patients are in the earthquake zone. We are trying to take the necessary measures so that these patients do not experience vision loss, so that their follow-up and treatment is not interrupted. In this context, as the Turkish Ophthalmology Association, We continue our efforts to provide mobile eye examination services in provinces.” he said.

prof. Dr. Pointing out that glaucoma disrupts the nerve cells in the visual pathway, Güngör said, “One of the important causes of the disease is that the high eye pressure in most of the patients disrupts the blood circulation in the eye nerve and this pressure causes damage to the nerve cells. The damage to the optic nerve is irreversible. Early diagnosis and treatment is very important.” used the phrase.

6 and a half million people worldwide have suffered from vision loss

Expressing that the disease can be seen at any age from birth, but it usually occurs after the age of 40, Güngör stated that the incidence of this disease increases with age, and that many types of glaucoma are more common in women, while congenital ones are more common in men.

Güngör stated the prevalence of eye pressure in Turkey and in the world, and continued as follows:

“The number of people with glaucoma in the world, especially between the ages of 40 and 80, was 70 million in the past years, but it is thought that this number will at least double in the 2050s. The probability of glaucoma over the age of forty is around 2 percent. 6 and a half million people suffer from this disease. The incidence is 2-2.5 percent in our country. The number of patients with glaucoma diagnosed in Turkey is around 500 thousand. However, it is estimated that the number of patients with glaucoma is 4 times this. In other words, 1.5 million of approximately 2 million patients He hasn’t been cured yet.”

What are the treatment methods?

Güngör stated that if damage is detected in the evaluations made with devices on the optic nerve at regular intervals, it is necessary to reduce the eye pressure with drops and to stop the loss in the visual field. If it is too late or insufficient, glaucoma can result in blindness.” warned.