If you were planning to use your eyes for the rest of your life might be worth getting checked for glaucoma.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide and approximately 300000 people in Australia have it.  It is a condition where abnormally high pressure within the eye damages the optic nerve leading to a loss of visual field.  There may be no early warning signs, hence it has been historically referred to as the “sneak thief of sight”.  Of great concern is that 50% of Australians who have glaucoma are undiagnosed, the consequences of which may be completely life altering for those individuals. 

We also know that first degree relatives of people with glaucoma have a 1 in 4 chance of developing the disease and older Australians have a 1 in 8 chance.    There are quite a number of higher risk groups it is worth being aware of.  These are:

• Family history of glaucoma
• Caucasian and Asian people > 50 years
• African descent > 40 years
• Diabetics
• People with myopia (short sightedness)
• Migraine sufferers
• People with high blood pressure
• Migraine sufferers

The good news is that the risk of blindness is dramatically reduced with diagnosis and appropriate treatment.  And it is as simple as having your eyes checked.  If you are in one of the above higher risk groups getting rechecked every 2 years is advisable.  Of your five senses, the loss of vision is potentially the most life changing.  A quick eye check every few years is an easy, inexpensive way to safeguard your lifestyle.

Impromy – The CSIRO researched weight loss program

As you may be aware from our previous emails we now run the Impromy weight loss program at the pharmacy.  We have been having great success with many people achieving more than 10kg of weight loss so far.  If you’d like to lose a few kilo’s before summer come in and have a chat with us.