More than 450 patients had their eyes checked at the free eye and glaucoma check-up camp organised by the Hashmani Hospital at its MA Jinnah Road campus on Saturday.
“The aim of the camp was to treat refractive errors and other eye diseases like glaucoma and educate people about the prevention and cure of eye diseases,” Dr Azfar Nafis, head of the Glaucoma Division at the Hashmani Hospital said in a statement. “Glaucoma is an eye disorder in which the optic nerve is damaged, permanently damaging vision in the affected eye(s) and progressing to complete blindness if untreated,” he added. “It is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in Pakistan and throughout the world. Glaucoma has been nicknamed the ‘silent enemy’ because the loss of vision normally occurs gradually over a long period of time, and is often recognised only when the disease is quite advanced. Once lost, this damaged visual field cannot be recovered.”
Nafis said there are two main types of glaucoma: open-angle glaucoma and closed-angle glaucomaalso called angle closure glaucoma. “It is painless and does not have acute attacks. The only signs are gradually progressive visual field loss, and optic nerve changes glaucoma management requires appropriate diagnostic techniques and follow-up examinations and judicious selection of treatments for the individual patient,” he explained “A complete eye exam is needed to diagnose glaucoma. You may be given eye drop to widen (dilate) your pupil. The eye doctor can look at the inside of the eye when the pupil is dilated.”
