You may go blind, if you are a coffee addict – Optometrists

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Glaucoma is an eye disease that has no cure. And experts has written several articles on the growing concern among optometrists
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about the rate at which the disease is causing blindness.
If you are one of those that are too busy for regular eye examinations, you are likely to take a new stand after reading the articles presented at the annual general meeting of the Lagos State branch of the Nigerian Optometric Association. Optometrists that spoke at the event explained how people were losing their sight to an irreversible eye disease, glaucoma.

One Dr Eniola Ajayi, who titled her artilce, “An overview of glaucoma,” explained how some patients were diagnosed of the disease, given medication and advised on the need for them to come for regular examinations.

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The optometrist stated that some of the patients absconded, only for them to come three or four years later, when the disease had already damaged their eyes.

According to her, glaucoma is a disease of the major nerve of the vision, optic nerve. She explained that optic nerve received light from retina and transmitted it to the brain. She further explained that optic nerve was the part of the eye that carried visual information to the brain where the information was interpreted.

Ajayi stated that glaucoma was no respecter of status as it could afflict the rich and the poor. Shedding more light on how the disease could occur, Ajayi said it could develop when there was an increase in the pressure in the eyes (intra-ocular pressure). The pressure can damage the optic nerve, which transmits visual information to the brain.

The theme of the annual general meeting, “Silent Stealer of the Sight,” Ajayi stated, demonstrated how glaucoma could damage the eye without the affected person knowing. She stated that if glaucoma was not diagnosed on time, it could progress to blindness. Ajayi urged Nigerians to go for eye examinations every six months.

The optometrist, however, noted that there had been instances where people that had been having regular eye examinations had the disease. “We have had instances where optometrists missed the diagnosis. When people are diagnosed as having it at a very late stage, they said they had never been told by optometrists that they had it.”

Such missed diagnoses of glaucoma, Ajayi said, brought to the fore the need for ophthalmologists to ensure that their clinics were well equipped. She stated that this would reduce the problem of undetected glaucoma.

She also listed the risk factors for glaucoma as age, race, diabetes, high intra-ocular pressure, and high degree of myopia (inability to see distant objects clearly) “From experience, people above the age of 40 are prone to developing glaucoma,” Ajayi said.

According to her, people with family history of glaucoma are also prone to the disease. Ajayi said, “This is why every question we ask our patient is very important. We should also keep their case history.”

The optometrist added that apart from injuries to eyes, steroids and consumption of caffeine could also trigger off the disease. She said, “The presence of too much caffeine in the body can actually cause an increase in intra-ocular pressure and increase in intra-ocular pressure can lead to glaucoma.”

In another lecture, Dr. Mercy Alogwu, said although glaucoma was not curable, “its early detection and treatment are critically important to prevent optic damage.” According to her, only half of the 70m people afflicted by the disease are aware they are having it.

Alogwu, who is the Medical Services Manager of Maxivision, an eye hospital, said the symptoms of glaucoma included gradual loss of peripheral (side vision), headache, difficulty in focusing on close objects, difficulty in adjusting vision in a dark room and frequent need to change eyeglass prescriptions.

She however warned that the disease would have caused irreversible damage to the eye, when the symptoms started appearing. Alogwu said, “That is why glaucoma is sometimes called ‘the silent thief of sight’ because it robs your vision without any signs or symptoms.”

The optometrist added, “The disease often goes undetected. It is painless and the patient often does not realize that he or she is slowly losing vision until later stages.”

According to her, glaucoma testing does not exclude anybody, “even those who seem to have perfect vision.”

Take note of this because most student are coffee addicts because it make them to stay awake in the night for study; but beware of the danger in over consumption of coffee.