Ministry of Public Health MOPH, in collaboration with Hamad Medical Corporations HMC and Primary Health Care Corporations PHCC, celebrates World Glaucoma Week from 6-12 March.
As part of the ceremony, the Ministry, in cooperation with its partners, is carrying out several activities to generate awareness on glaucoma and warning of its risks.
Dr. Kholoud Al Mutawa, Head of Non- Communicable Disease Section at MoPH, said: Glaucoma is one of the most important eye diseases that cause vision loss in Qatar, and the disease comes first as a cause of blindness for those over 50 years of age.
She added that MoPH has begun preparing for a comprehensive national survey aimed at identifying the causes of blindness and its prevalence among people aged 50 years or over in Qatar and helps collect and provide data on health services in ophthalmology.
Dr. Badria al-Maliki, Assistant Executive Director of Continuing Care and Integrated Services at PHCC and National Coordinator for Blindness Control, said: Routine screenings of elderly people and diabetics at health care centers have led to the discovery of new cases in people who had no prior history of glaucoma.
She added that the publication of awareness messages and educational advice related to this disease and how to prevent various diseases that may affect the eye, stressing the need to review ophthalmologists for early examinations and measure eye pressure.
Dr. Zakia Al Ansari, Consultant Ophthalmology at HMC, said: "Glaucoma leads to damage of the optic nerve, which transmits visual information from the cornea to the brain and is one of the most important diseases causing permanent vision loss in the world, so we stress the importance of regular eye examination to avoid blindness, stressing that glaucoma does not show any symptoms in most cases. The patient therefore does not realize that he is infected until it causes damage and damage to the optic nerve, but the disease can be controlled, and blindness can be avoided through early diagnosis and the start of appropriate treatment, noting that HMC provides tools for early examination and treatment through advanced techniques."
She explained that the ophthalmology clinic receives approximately 500 patients per month with multiple forms of glaucoma, and the patient is treated immediately after diagnosis by the ophthalmologist, where the treatment plan is prepared according to the patient's individual needs, pointing out that the treatment cannot remove damage to the eye, but can contribute to the prevention of future vision loss and maintain the level of vision. Loss of sight resulting from glaucoma is a condition that cannot be cured.
Dr. Zakia Al Ansari stressed that the patient of glaucoma must commit to providing the treatment plan determined by the competent doctor, which varies according to the type of glaucoma and the stage at which the patient has reached, and may include pharmacological treatment through the use of drops and pills, or laser treatment for some cases, and eye specialists when the disease worsens can resort to surgery, the types of which are determined by condition and type of glaucoma.
Glaucoma is called silent disease or vision-stealing because no pain or symptoms accompany it, so the patient does not realize that he has the disease until it causes permanent damage to the optic nerve responsible for transmitting the image to the brain and here the eye loses the ability to see completely.
Source: Ministry of Public Health