Elisabeth S. Swan, O.D.

Glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness in the U.S., is most often associated with the elderly. But Prevent Blindness America, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization working to prevent blindness and preserve sight, cautions that glaucoma can appear at any age.

The disease slowly damages the optic nerve causing peripheral vision loss. If untreated, central vision can also be compromised or lost.

Groups that are most likely to develop glaucoma include people over forty and those with a family history of glaucoma. African Americans and Hispanics are at increased risk. Also, a congenital form of glaucoma can emerge in much younger people.

Glaucoma is sometimes referred to as “the sneak thief of sight”, as generally there are no obvious warning signs. Unusually high pressure in the eye can be an early indicator and this is why a comprehensive eye examination includes a test for eye pressure. For those who have been identified as at risk for glaucoma, an annual dilated eye examination is recommended.

There is no cure for glaucoma and it cannot currently be prevented. Nor can vision that is lost be restored. But when diagnosed and treated early, glaucoma’s effects on the eyes and vision can be mitigated.

Soul music legend Ray Charles was not born blind. He lost his sight to undiagnosed glaucoma at age seven.

Glaucoma can’t be prevented nor can vision lost to glaucoma ever be restored. But early diagnosis and treatment can help avoid permanent loss of vision. Although it is very rare in infants and toddlers, certain signs can be indicators. Regular eye exams are the best insurance against avoidable blindness.

Sometimes other people are the first to notice an unattractive spot on your eyelid. That bump, most likely a sty, is technically called a hordeolum, an infection of the sebaceous gland in the eyelid. It is often caused by a staphylococcus bacteria infecting an oil gland or eyelash follicle on the rim of the eyelid.

Oil glands contribute to the tears that wet the eye and stop surface drying. Dirt, fatigue, poor diet, conjunctivitis, blepharitis, or a blocked gland duct can all contribute to such an infection. Sometimes inflamed and painful for a few days, they usually come to a point and discharge by themselves. Soaking the eye with a hot compress for ten to fifteen minutes a few times a day
(two to four times) can help liquefy and drain the secretions.

Sometimes the sty points on the inside of the eyelid where the tears will wash away the exudations when it bursts. If it points on the outside it can, with care and proper sterilizing precautions, be lanced and drained.

In some cases, a persistent blockage becomes a hardened mass inside the rim of the eyelid. This is called a chalazion. Sometimes chalazia resolve themselves within a few weeks or months. Others must be treated by an appropriate eye health professional, either with antibiotics, steroid injections, or with minor surgery.

It is always prudent to consult with an eye health professional as early as possible to choose a proper course of action.

Guess how many years before law enforcement agents who found a missing child, a runaway teen or a lost Alzheimer’s patient could scan the person’s iris and, within seconds, determine his or her identity? Another century? Decades? No, just a few years, if The Child Project proves successful.

The Nation’s Missing Children Organization, National Center for Missing Adults and The Point Group Companies, Inc., teamed up to launch the project, which involves creating a nationwide computer database of iris scans. The intricacies of a person’s iris, which are as unique as fingerprints, can be captured in a high resolution digital photo and entered into the database. Using iris
recognition technology, the computer system will be able to retrieve a match in seconds.

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