Lab to offer free glaucoma screenings this week

The screenings are from 1 to 4 p.m. every Wednesday thereafter in January at HSR-2, which is at Technical Area 3. The service is available to University of California Laboratory employees and subcontract personnel. No appointment is necessary.

Screenings for glaucoma are usually part of a regular eye examination, said Lezlie Morris of HSR-2. But people age 40 or older who don't see an optometrist or opthamologist on a regular basis are encouraged to consider having their eyes checked for glaucoma.

According to the Glaucoma Foundation, glaucoma is a specific pattern of optic nerve damage and visual field loss caused by a number of different eye diseases. Most, but not all of these diseases, are characterized by elevated intraocular pressure, which is not the disease itself, but the most important risk factor for the development of glaucoma.

Glaucoma is sometimes called the "silent thief of sight" because it strikes without obvious symptoms. A person with glaucoma is usually unaware of it until serious loss of vision has occurred. In fact, half of those suffering damage from glaucoma do not know it. Currently, damage from glaucoma cannot be reversed.

Morris said other risk factors for glaucoma include a family history of glaucoma; abnormally high intraocular pressure; myopia, or nearsightedness; regular, longterm steroid/cortisone use; high blood pressure; a previous eye injury; diabetes; and people of African American or Asian descent.

"The most important thing people can do to protect their vision from glaucoma is to have regular eye exams," said Morris. "If a doctor finds that you have the disease, or that you are at risk for the disease, he or she can recommend treatment to minimize the risks or the effects of the disease."

For more information about the glaucoma screenings, call Morris at 5-7265.

More information also is available at http://www.glaucoma-foundation.org/info/ online.

-- Steve Sandoval

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