In Konya, ophthalmologists, residents, nurses/technicians and pharmaceutical representatives gathered at Mevlana Square to draw attention to glaucoma (eye pressure) within the scope of Glaucoma Week under the leadership of Selçuk University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology. Participants prepared a poster titled "Glaucoma can lead to irreversible vision loss. Get your eye pressure measured. Don't let glaucoma darken your world" banner.

Prof. Dr. Banu Bozkurt, a faculty member of Selçuk University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, said in a statement that glaucoma is one of the leading diseases that lead to loss of vision in the world. Stating that there are approximately 80 million patients with glaucoma in the world and this number is increasing every year, Bozkurt said, "This number is expected to increase to 100-110 million in the next 10 years. It is an insidious disease. At first, it does not cause any pain, does not cause pain in the eye and does not involve central vision. It causes some peripheral visual field loss, then narrowing of the peripheral visual field and finally central vision. Therefore, unfortunately, a lot of time has passed by the time patients apply to us. Unfortunately, by the time we make the diagnosis, at least 60-70 percent of the eye has been damaged. It is possible to catch this disease early. It can be caught early and slowed down much more with the right treatment. We can provide the patient with better vision throughout his/her life."

"HAVE YOUR EYE EXAM EVERY YEAR"

Bozkurt stated that regular eye examinations every year are very important for early diagnosis. Explaining that glaucoma can be seen at any age, especially after the age of 40 and those with a family history of glaucoma have a higher risk, Bozkurt said, "When eye pressure is measured during eye checks, when we do some examinations, we can diagnose and treat this disease in a good way. Glaucoma events are organized all over the world. Because this disease is really a late disease to be diagnosed. Almost 50 percent of glaucoma patients in the society are undiagnosed. For this reason, we would like to thank our colleagues who came to the famous Mevlana Square, our Dean Prof. Dr. Yavuz Selvi, our Vice Dean Prof. Dr. Nadire Doğan, our nurses, technicians and medical representatives who worked shoulder to shoulder with us. I hope we were able to raise awareness. Glaucoma is a very serious disease. Please have your eye examination every year."

"HAVE AN EYE EXAMINATION EVEN IF YOU HAVE NO COMPLAINTS"

Prof. Dr. Yavuz Selvi, Dean of Selçuk University Faculty of Medicine, stated the importance of eye examination and said: "We say that we take care of our loved ones and everything we love like our eyes. It seems that we do not value our eyes enough. In fact, what we need to do is very simple: After the age of 40, we should especially go to our ophthalmologists to have our eye pressure measured, have our eyes examined, take precautions and get rid of glaucoma disease. Actually, what we will do is preventive medicine in a sense. We can go to our ophthalmologists without any complaints, have our eyes examined, have our tests done and take precautions. I congratulate our esteemed ophthalmologists who came together in Mevlana Square. They have created awareness for us."