Over 1,000 take part in glaucoma awareness walk

Gurugram, March 19 (IANS) Over 1,000 people, including school children and youth, participated in a walk organised to raise awareness about glaucoma -- an eye disease that is expected to hit an estimated 80 million cases globally by 2020.

Glaucoma is a condition that causes damage to eye's optic nerve and gets worse over time. It is often linked to a buildup of pressure inside the eye. Glaucoma tends to be inherited and may not show up until later in life.

As part of the awareness walk, information leaflets were distributed among the participants to create awareness and take precautionary measures.

Several government officials, including Commissioner of Police Sandeep Khirwar, took part in the walk.

Face-to-face interactive sessions were also held to impart information to the curious people and to inform them about the importance of regular eye checkups.

"Usually people over the age of 50 are prone to it, and since it has no recognisable symptoms, it can lead to blindness," said Parul Sony, ophthalmologist and Director of Gurgaon-based Complete Eye Care Centre.

As per the estimates of Glaucoma Society of India, more than 10 million are suffering from glaucoma and over one million new cases are reported every year.

"To stop glaucoma from becoming an epidemic, creating awareness about it is important. Most of us don't go to hospital until pain or persisting symptoms occur. This walk indeed helped many get information on how to prevent glaucoma," said Sony.

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