The month of January is recognized as National Glaucoma Awareness Month. Currently,
more than 3 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with glaucoma.
Furthermore, The National Eye Institute projects that this number will increase to 4.2 million by
2030. Glaucoma is sometimes referred to as “the sneak thief of sight” since there are no
symptoms and once vision is lost, it’s permanent. Therefore, the purpose of National Glaucoma
Awareness Month is to spread awareness about glaucoma.
According to the Glaucoma Foundation, a glaucoma is a group of eye diseases where
pressure is increased within the eye which is caused by a backup of fluid in the eye and
eventually leads to vision loss. Vision loss is caused by damage to the optic nerve. This nerve
acts like an electric cable with over a million wires and it is responsible for carrying images from
the eye to the brain. Currently, there is no cure for glaucoma, but surgery and medication delay
the vision loss that results from glaucoma. There are two types of glaucoma. The first type of
glaucoma is open-angle glaucoma which is the most common form of glaucoma and accounts for
90% of all glaucoma cases. “Open-angle” means that the angle where the iris meets the cornea is
as wide and open as it should be. The second type of glaucoma is called angle-closure glaucoma
which is a less common form of glaucoma. Angle-closure glaucoma is a result of the angle
between the iris and cornea closing.
Even though there are no symptoms for glaucoma, there are some risk factors. A few of
these risk factors are family history, people with diabetes, those who are over 60, and people
who are severely nearsighted. The only way to be diagnosed with glaucoma is to get
a comprehensive dilated eye exam. An early diagnosis will help prevent further vision loss which
could result from glaucoma. To learn more about glaucoma, please visit the Glaucoma Research Foundation’s website
at https://www.glaucoma.org/. In addition to this, you can visit the Glaucoma Foundation’s
website to learn more about treatment and how glaucoma is diagnosed
https://glaucomafoundation.org/.
If you have questions regarding any of the information mentioned in this week's article,
please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. Please always feel free to contact my
office if you have any questions or issues regarding a Texas state agency, or if you would like to
contact my office regarding constituent services. As always, my offices are available at any time
to assist with questions, concerns, or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office,
361-949-4603).
– State Representative Todd Hunter, District 32
Rep. Hunter represents Aransas County and Nueces County (Part). He can be contacted at
todd.hunter@house.texas.gov or at 512-463-0672.