Glaucoma is a serious eye disease affecting one in eight people aged over 80 and around three per cent of the Australian population. Unfortunately, only half of people with glaucoma are diagnosed. ’s research fellow Dr Jennifer Fan Gaskin, a glaucoma specialist and a practising ophthalmologist, says glaucoma is often diagnosed only after a significant vision loss.
One in seven Australians aged over fifty is affected by age-related macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of blindness and vision loss in Australia. Logie has been suffering from the disease for over twenty years.
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Another leading cause of visual impairment in older people is cataracts. According to Dr Fan Gaskin, everybody will develop a cataract if they live long enough. Other factors such as regular over-exposure to sunlight or having diabetes will also accelerate younger people’s likelihood of developing the disease.
Data from show that more than 700,000 Australians are affected by cataracts. The data also found a 9.5 per cent increase in claims for cataract removal procedures between 2010 to 2017. Dr Fan Gaskin advises older people to at least have their eyes checked by an eye specialist once every two years if not yearly.
Check out the website for more information on symptoms of age-related macular degeneration.
You can find out more about glaucoma before or during World Glaucoma Week which is between 8th to 14th of March on the website.
