January is Glaucoma Awareness Month, and it’s a great chance for people to increase awareness and encourage others to have their eyes tested regularly. Labeled as “the sneak thief of sight,” glaucoma currently affects 2.7 million people in America, with that number expected to nearly double by 2030. Glaucoma can damage as much as 40 percent of a person’s vision before they realize there is a problem, and by that point, the damage is permanent.

If any of your vision is lost due to glaucoma, it cannot be restored. This is why eyecare professionals emphasize the need for regular eye exams to protect ones eye health. Here are some facts about glaucoma that may help you develop a better understanding of this eye condition:

• — There are several risk factors that increase your odds of contracting glaucoma. Some of these include a family history of the disease, extreme nearsightedness and aging eyes.

• — Vision loss due to glaucoma starts in your peripheral vision, which makes it difficult to detect on your own. Gradually it will progress to what people refer to as “tunnel vision” and may affect your central vision as well.

• — The only way to confirm a diagnosis of glaucoma is to have a comprehensive eye exam. If you wait until you have already lost some vision, you will not gain back what was lost, even with treatment or surgery.

As the only ultra-widefield retinal imaging technology with a 200 degree view of the retina in a patient-friendly single capture, optomap® can see more and treat more, effectively. Since early diagnosis is critical to saving your vision if diagnosed with glaucoma, a regular comprehensive eye exam including Optos’ ultra-widefield retinal imaging is essential.

Visit the Optos website to learn more about the benefits ultra-widefield retinal imaging can provide and to learn more about optomap.

Image courtesy of Optos – optomap ultra-widefield color image – Glaucoma Cupping