Glaucoma study finds patients need support

Eye care practitioners have been called upon to help put glaucoma patients at ease amid a serious lack of understanding about the condition.

Russell Young, deputy chief executive at The International Glaucoma Association, said patients were often confused, worried and frightened when diagnosed with glaucoma.

'Many people identified as a glaucoma suspect know very little about the condition and they become very worried while they wait for their hospital appointment and we can try to calm them down and answer their questions,' he said.

Although 94 per cent of people had heard of glaucoma, just 31 per cent knew it was an eye condition, found market research presented by Young at a conference in Glasgow last week. The findings were from an IGA study of 500 people between the ages of 40 and 70.