Over 500 walk to raise awareness about glaucoma

New Delhi: Over 500 people, including school students, participated in a walk in the national capital to raise awareness about glaucoma, a disease causing blindness among 1.3 lakh Indians every year.

The participants also interacted with passers-by in Nirman Vihar area of east Delhi and shared information on glaucoma.

According to medical statistics, hardly 10 percent of the Indian population knows that 68 percent of them run the risk of developing glaucoma, which can be controlled only if proper medical treatment is taken.

"Glaucoma is a disorder associated with increase in eye pressure, and is characterised by damage to the optic nerve leading to irreversible blindness. Currently in India, every eighth individual or nearly 40 million aged 40 years or older either has glaucoma or is at risk of developing the disease," said Dr. Samir Sud of Sharp Sight Group of Hospitals, the organisers of the event.