One Year/Be Aware

First, I’m excited to say that today (actually, yesterday… sigh, wasn’t able to upload this before midnight) makes one year since I wrote and uploaded my first post. I only have 18 (up to this point) and plan to remedy that this year.

I also wanted to make all of my pageviewers aware that January is Glaucoma Awareness Month. :

And I wanted to share some facts (it’s my eye condition)

--these facts were taken directly from glaucoma.org (linked above), and the American Glaucoma Society just condensed)

--These facts are in no particular order:

• Glaucoma is the leading cause of preventable blindness (and one of the leading causes of adult blindness)

• It’s most prevalent in Latinos and African Americans (6-8 times more common in African Americans than Caucasians)

• Over 3 million Americans, and over 60 million people worldwide, have glaucoma. And experts estimate that half of them don’t know they have it.

• In the United States, approximately 120,000 are blind from glaucoma, accounting for 9% to 12% of all cases of blindness.

• Most people who go blind from glaucoma are blind in at least one eye at the time of original detection

• Glaucoma usually does not manifest any symptoms until extensive peripheral visual loss becomes apparent in the final stages of the disease

• Most varieties of glaucoma are chronic, virtually lifelong disorders than can

be controlled but not cured.

• The majority of glaucoma cases in North America and Europe are associated with elevation of the intraocular pressure. (basically, high eye pressure) But it’s not only high eye pressure. Some people have high eye pressure but never get glaucoma. While others have what is called low tention glaucoma (low eye pressure) or “normal pressure glaucoma”

                                It’s important that you maintain good eye health. I’ve always had poor vision, but it has worsened over the years. I can no longer read money or large print bottle labels because I stopped taking my drops consistently for a few years. It wasn’t a huge loss for me, but it would be for someone born with 20/20. You should be especially vigilant (see what I did there?) if glaucoma runs in your family.

                Glaucoma is, after all, known, as the “sneak thief of sight”. Sight that cannot, as of current technology, be restored (as I believe it can in some other eye conditions). But, if caught in time, it can be prevented.

Share this information with friends through word of mouth, the above links, (preferably) through this post so that I can get more views, etc. Go look at these links and do some additional research, maybe even donate to the Glaucoma Research Foundation.

Be active in your eye health (and the rest of your body, too, I guess:)

And if you need entertainment until my next post (on Saturday) go catch up with my vlog. Starting with my friends and my little rant.

Till Next Time