The silent killer of sight, glaucoma, is on the rise among the poor people as they are unable to afford surgery or prolonged medication expenses.
Half the population that forms the serpentine queue at the government eye hospital is likely to slip into blindness due to this problem as the disease can be cured only if detected early or would result in the patient losing vision, say doctors.
“Every month, we get as many as 150 new cases of glaucoma, but are able to conduct only 8-10 surgeries. Most of the patients are too poor to afford the drugs for treatment, which is out of reach even for the middle class,” says a doctor at the hospital.
While medicines are a more popular mode of treatment for the disease in western countries, surgeries, despite their complications, are the best option for people here,” explains Dr. Krishnaraj, an ophthalmologist, pointing out that 10 to 15 per cent of patients are not even aware that they are suffering from the disease.
As the cost of eye drops begins from `200 and above depending on the treatment many people do not have enough money to procure it as a long term medical solution.
The progress of glaucoma that affects the optic nerve, causing irreversible vision loss, can be arrested if detected early.
