January Is National Glaucoma Awareness Month

Leading eyecare organizations are calling attention to National Glaucoma Awareness Month in January, in an effort to educate everyone about the second leading cause of world blindness. Organization including National Institutes of Health, the National Eye Institute (NEI), as well as Prevent Blindness America (PBA), the American Optometric Association, the Glaucoma Research Foundation and others are all encouraging people to educate themselves about this disease and get a comprehensive eye exam.

Showing a 22% increase from just ten years ago, more than 2.7 million Americans aged 40 and older have open angle glaucoma, according to the 2012 Vision Problems in the U.S. report from PBA and NEI. After cataracts, it is the second leading cause of blindness in the world … the first among African-Americans. Other high risk groups include people of Asian and Hispanic descent, people over 60, anyone with a family history, diabetics and anyone who is severely nearsighted.

Learn more about glaucoma, and many other disorders affecting vision at any of the sites listed above.