March 6 — World Glaucoma Day

Abstract

In 2008, the World Glaucoma Association and World Glaucoma Patients Association proposed March 6 to celebrate the World Day of fighting against this formidable disease, which is the cause of blindness in 13.5 % of cases. Glaucoma is a pathology of the eye, which is characterized by a constant or periodic increase in intraocular pressure, resulting in the gradual development of optic nerve atrophy, followed by partial or complete loss of vision. According to the World Health Organization, more than 100 million people suffer from glaucoma worldwide. This disease most often affects both eyes, as a rule, develops in older patients, and occurs in women about three times more often than in men. As the world's population gradually ages, there is a trend towards a slow but steady increase in the incidence of glaucoma in the world. Ophthalmologists are sounding the alarm — with timely treatment, the onset of irreversible changes in this eye pathology can at least be delayed, if not completely avoided. In order to draw public attention to this problem and increase the level of public awareness in the prevention and treatment of glaucoma, it was proposed to celebrate this memorable date.