Undisturbed, glaucoma blinds people. It respects neither gender nor education; it ignores wealth and privilege. We have no cure for it and we cannot reverse the damage that it has caused. Glaucoma affects about 2% of people over 40 years of age. It is not rare. It is the commonest cause of irreversible and preventable visual disability everywhere. But most of the time we can control it. The earlier glaucoma is diagnosed, the less damage that has been caused, the better the long-term outlook. Early detection requires informed communities whose members seek eye examinations as well as knowledgeable and appropriately equipped eye health care professionals. This requires access to a worthwhile health system. Even in developed societies, about 50% of patients with glaucoma have not been diagnosed and are not on treatment. Half of these undiagnosed people have been seen by an eye health care practitioner in the last two years. With this book, we wish to enlighten our readers with quality information to minimise visual disability from glaucoma.
