Help raise awareness: January is Glacuoma Awareness Month

With more than 2 million Americans affected by glaucoma, the goal of Glaucoma Awareness Month during January is to spread the word about the risk factors and need for regular eye exams to catch this blinding disease in its early stages. Glaucoma has no symptoms and once vision is lost, there is no gaining it back. Glaucoma causes vision loss by damaging the optic nerve and there are two main types of glaucoma: primary open-angle and angle-closure glaucoma. While there is no cure for glaucoma, there are treatments available that can slow or prevent vision loss. There are risk factors for glaucoma and some of those include being over the age of 60, diabetes and being of African or Latino descent. You can raise awareness among your friends and family by directing them to Glaucoma.org and urging them to get a yearly comprehensive eye exam.*