By DR CHRIS LYON | Project Leader
GLAUCOMA Like the rest of us, Cambodians can suffer from Glaucoma , the world's second leading cause of blindness. Glaucoma comes in many forms, but the most common type -chronic open angle glaucoma, can be treated with eyedrops and/ or laser eye surgery. But first, it has to be recognized and diagnosed,This is where the local Eye Doctors - Cambodian Ophthalmologists come to the fore.
THE BLINDNESS FOUNDATION , this year, will expand its training and skill-set transfer to trainees- Resident Ophthalmologists at two major Teaching Hospitals in the capital city , Phnom Penh.
Dr Walter Reed the famous discoverer of Yellow Fever transmission, that was killing laborers building the Panama Canal famously said--" If treat ten patients , I can save ten lives, but if I train ten Doctors,then I can save one hundred lives."
So , that is a primary mission of THE BLINDNESS FOUNDATION , training Eye Doctors in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and the Philippines., to help save their own people's eyesight.
Glaucoma begins with an ongoing blockage of the drainage channels located at the front of the eye, called the trabecular meshwork found ,in front of the iris.In a fashion similar to arteriosclerosis in ageing patients, this trabecular meshwork becomes, clogged . impeding normal circulation of eye fluids out of the eye into the bloodstream. This causes a build up of pressure within the eyeball, that fluctautes with the body's sleep cycle. As these swings of increased eye pressure recur, the delicate cells at the back of the eye in the retina, become impaired through complex biochemical reactions, and eventually start to die off.
This usually starts to impair side or peripheral vision, with damage extending ithrough the optic nerve and into the brain itself, further impairing visual processing. Eventually all vision can be lost and blindness ensues.
Glaucoma pressure can sometimes be felt, but is often painless , until the diseasee progresses and severe eye pain can result.Cambodian challenges include initial diagnosis through screening by local Ophthalmologists, . Eye drop treatment is expensive for most poor Cambodians. Laser surgery can reduce this burden, but access is limited.
THE BLINDNESS FOUNDATION will upgrade the Ophthalmogists skill -sets to help reduce the glaucoma in Cambodia's people to help retain their eyesight .
Thank you for your kind support , DR CHRIS LYON , Director, THE BLINDNESS FOUNDATION
By DR CHRIS LYON | Project Leader
By DR CHRIS LYON | Project Leader
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