On World Glaucoma Day doctors advise regular check-ups for over 40s

WHENEVER her visually impaired brother had to go for his eye check-up at the hospital, Madam Chua Mui Lien would insist on  accompanying him.

And the 53-year-old’s concern for her brother’s safety saved her from losing her sight too.

Her brother, Mr Chua Jin Wah, 68, suffers from glaucoma – he is completely blind in his right eye and 95 per cent blind in his left.

Since Mr Chua was diagnosed in July 2008, the retiree has been undergoing treatment and going for quarterly check-ups at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH).

It was during one such check-up last year that Mr Chua’s doctor advised Madam Chua to get her eyes checked too.

She did, and discovered she suffered from high eye pressure – one of the risk factors of glaucoma.

Glaucoma is an eye disease where the fluid pressure within the eyeball is too high and damages the optic nerve. This impairs vision, which can lead to blindness.

The condition accounts for 40 per cent of blindness in Singapore, according to the Singapore National Eye Centre’s website.Like her brother, Madam Chua now uses eye drops to help decrease eye pressure.

This reduces the likelihood of glaucoma developing.

Mr Chua’s doctor, Dr Leonard Yip, 39, a consultant at TTSH’s department of ophthalmology, urged Madam Chua to get her eyes checked last March.

The hospital was holding a World Glaucoma Day event where there were free eye screenings.

Recalled Madam Chua: “He told me I was three to four times as likely to get glaucoma since my brother had the condition.”

Madam Chua, who helps out with a friend’s business, was hesitant at first.

She said: “I didn’t have obvious vision problems, and even needing reading glasses seemed normal with age.”

But she decided to err on the side of caution.

Dr Yip noted that if the eye pressure in Madam Chua was left untreated, it could lead to glaucoma and loss of sight, as in her brother’s case.

Said Madam Chua: “I was so shocked. Seeing what happened to my brother was heart-breaking, so I was really thankful I caught this in time.

“Before I saw Dr Yip, I never knew about this genetic link,” she said.

She also hopes to persuade her six other siblings, aged between 50s and 70s, to go for the check-up.

Dr Yip noted that first-degree relatives such as parents, siblings and children of a glaucoma patient are at higher risk than those without any family history of the condition.

Because glaucoma is “slow and progressive”, Dr Yip added, patients tend not to realise they have it until their vision is severely impaired.

He said: “It’s a highly preventable cause of blindness if picked up in the early stages so I would advocate early screening and treatment.”

Those who have immediate family with glaucoma should go for an eye screening every three to five years if they are under 40, Dr Yip advised.

If they are over 40, they should go for screening every one to two years.

This is because the risk of glaucoma usually doubles with every decade.

Dr Yip said: “It’s important to go for regular screening because your eyes may be okay at one point, but glaucoma may develop later on as you age.”

Mr Chua, who lives alone in a one-room flat, is thankful that his sister’s condition was detected early.

The siblings see each other about once a week.

He said: “Unlike me, she was lucky to have found out early. She helped me by accompanying me to the hospital, so one good turn deserved another.”

TTSH has been organising public talks and free eye screenings since World Glaucoma Day started in 2008.

This year, the event falls on 20 Mar.

Call 6357-7648 or 6357-8533 to register.