GREAT NEWS! Glaucoma and Medicare Benefit

Beginning in January of 2002, people with Medicare who are eligible for glaucoma screening will be able to receive a screening once every 12 months. Eligible high-risk people include:

• individuals with diabetes,
• individuals with a family history of glaucoma,
• African-Americans age 50 and over.

The screening includes measuring the pressure in your eye and dilating your pupil so that the nerve in the back of the eye can be checked. Although dilating your pupil does make you sensitive to light and cause blurry vision for a few hours, it is necessary for a thorough glaucoma screening (Source: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Jan. 2002).

Even though you may not fit in the high-risk categories listed above, don’t let that stop you from having a thorough eye examination, including glaucoma testing. Glaucoma is the “sneak thief of sight” and early detection and treatment are vital in saving a person’s eyesight.

For more information, contact the ISPB.

The Visionary, published as a service of the Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness,
is available upon request. The information contained in this issue,
taken from sources considered to be accurate,
does not replace the need for professional eye care consultations and treatments.

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