Glaucoma, Cataracts and other eye diseases are on the rise, doctors say. It is especially so among those aged over 50 and the diabetic. With India termed the diabetes capital of the world, the incidence of increase in Glaucoma cases can be quite alarming, This,coupled with the fact that a problem like Glaucoma attacks silently without any warning is a cause for concern. By the time people visit doctors for symptoms of glaucoma, it might already be too late.
Parul Sharma, senior eye consultant Max Healthcare, said: “The trend which I have observed in past few months is that diabetes-related eye problems have considerably increased. Since the number of diabetes patients is on the rise, diabetes-related eye disorders like glaucoma have increased.” ”One interesting update is that there has been research on culture of stem cells for the treatment of corneal diseases,” Sharma added. She said that even after several initiatives by the government such as the national blindness prevention programme and free cataract surgeries, most people do not avail the programmes due to lack of awareness.
According to eye specialist Rohan Chawla, also of Max Healthcare, there have been fewer cases of conjunctivitis this year compared to last year. The main reasons behind eye problems are diabetes, eye injury, use of certain medications, infection or inflammation of the eye, radiation exposure, and pollution.
As far as cataract is concerned, it is rarely seen in children. And if it occurs, it is mainly due to a congenital defect or developmental anomaly. A survey conducted in 2009 by I-care health management stated that over 3.8 million people in India suffer from cataract every year, with the maximum number of cases seen in people aged 50-60 years.
A 2010 report of World Health Organisation says that the number of people around the world with visual impairment is 285 million – 65 percent of whom are aged over 50. Of these, 246 million have low vision; 63 percent are aged over 50; and 39 million are estimated to be blind.
Source: IANS
First Published: Mar 13, 2012 at 11:19 AM
Ophthalmologists and local grandees benvaihg badly in Atlanta. Old letters. Depositions. Does this sound promising? Tom Harbin has transformed such potentially leaden non-fictional material into a narrative that is as difficult to put down as the best sort of Grishamite thriller. In fact, I didn’t put the book down. I read it straight through, finishing at about 5 AM and paying dearly the next day. I confess to knowing a couple of the major participants, and I’ve had my own very unhappy collision with a branch of the Emory Clinic in Atlanta that seemed to be, like the Emory department that Dr. Harbin anatomizes, the medical equivalent of a puppy mill. My own contact with Emory medicine, though, was not a plus in terms of my wanting to read the book. Indeed, I had to overcome an aversion to revisiting this environment. I was able to do so because of this book’s narrative power: a cumulative portrait of evil emerges along with that of the growing corruption of a scientific/academic institution that pulls all manner of political levers to cover up and protect that evil and to punish the courageous few who persist in pursuit of truth and common decency. Among the latter are two heroes whose careers are derailed, and the book is dedicated to them. A third hero is the narrator/implied author, Dr. Harbin. No doubt he is on dangerous legal ground making such revelations, but he seems to hold nothing back. I was initially inclined to say that his riveting prose, appropriately, is surgical, but it is more than that. Our Founding Fathers revered as their models the unpretentious courage, lucidity, and incorruptibility of the leaders of the ancient Roman republic. I am certain that these Romans as well as our Founders would recognize Dr. Harbin as a peer.
Legalize Marijuana! marijuana cures glaucoma
Eye care should be given more prominence, but MNC drug manufacturers have increased the prices many fold, Once my baby contracted conjunctivitis during a eye check camp in a prominent hospital, the docs prescribed costly eye drops, coincidentally I asked the pharmacist for equivalent cheaper drops, I found that there are cheaper drops with the same generic name. Generic name medicine policy should be implemented
Prevention and community awareness program should be initiated where school children ensure visit of one person to the eye check in a year at least.
Eyedrops like Bimatoprost and Timololrecommended eye drops for Glaucoma costs Rs 500/ for 3ML. eVery month
3ml is required which the common man ca not afford . As it is aimported drug the local drug manufactures like
Reddy/s lab should conduct research for new eye drops.