January is Glaucoma Awareness Month. Glaucoma is a condition which causes progressive damage to the optic nerve, slowly causing a permanent loss of vision. Glaucoma affects over 2.7 million people in the USA, and it is the #1 preventable cause of blindness. Unfortunately, there are no symptoms in glaucoma's early stages, and once vision has been lost, it is permanent. If a person waits until they notice a problem, it can be too late. Glaucoma is one of the top reasons why routine eye exams are so important.
The good news about glaucoma is that with today's technology, it has become much easier to catch glaucoma early. For most people, there are treatments available to prevent vision loss. Our office is equipped with the latest, state-of-the-art equipment to effectively screen for and manage glaucoma. We perform glaucoma screening as part of our routine yearly eye exams, but an appointment can also be made specifically for glaucoma screening.