For many people, the arrival of summer is synonymous with holidays, hot weather and open-air activities. For patients with glaucoma, the season may bring a variety of challenges and lead to doubts that we hope to resolve in this post.

Glaucoma and sunlight

Ultraviolet light can cause damage to the eyes without the right protection. Light is reflected off surfaces like water or sand and can cause burns in the surface structures of the eye (the conjunctiva and the cornea). When there is exposure over a long period, damage to more internal structures, such as the crystalline lens or the retina, has been described.

The specific case of glaucoma also involves the sensitivity to light and the tendency to be dazzled that these patients usually experience. These symptoms may be considerably improved by wearing good-quality sunglasses and a double-brimmed or peaked hat.

Glaucoma and flying

Patients sometimes ask whether the changes in atmospheric pressure during a regular flight can affect glaucoma. In fact, changes in pressure inside the cabin are rigorously controlled these days and are made very gradually as the plane climbs and descends. As a result, the effect on eye pressure (intraocular pressure) is almost non-existent. However, these changes act on the volume of gas in the air, which could affect patients who have recently undergone retina surgery. Surgeons sometimes leave a gas bubble to keep the retina in its place. This may last for 6-8 weeks and can expand with altitude changes, increasing intraocular pressure suddenly.

In general, patients who have undergone retina surgery and who have received gas are advised that flying during these months is contraindicated. These gases are not used in glaucoma surgery and therefore such patients do not usually face restrictions when flying. In any event, it is best to ask the ophthalmologist before travelling, above all when surgery has taken place recently, in order to make sure.

In any case, the air inside the cabin is normally very dry. This means that it is recommendable to use artificial tears, especially in patients with glaucoma who take drops chronically and who show a greater tendency to suffer from dry eye. Likewise, we recommend that –just like any other medication- they always carry glaucoma drops in their hand luggage to avoid missing doses in the case of delays, longer flights or loss of luggage. The bottle should be closed to avoid spillages and kept in a cool place to avoid overheating.

Summer and glaucoma drops

Changes of locality can make adherence to the treatment more difficult and can lead to doubts about storing glaucoma drops. Most pharmaceutical companies recommend keeping the drops at 15-25ºC, so if we are travelling to warmer zones we should try to prevent the drops being exposed to direct sunlight and keep them in a cool place when we arrive at our destination. The instruction leaflet normally explains how a medicine should be kept. If you are still unsure, you can ask your chemist or find out on the website of the pharmaceutical company involved.

Picture: Lovely beach by Luke Ma.

The post

We at the Institut de la Màcula implemented an awareness campaign to draw everyone’s attention to the importance of early detection in glaucoma. Now that the campaign is over, all that remains is to congratulate ourselves and, it goes without saying, all of you. Thanks to everyone, the campaign has been a success and therefore we would like to express our gratitude for placing your trust in us.

On the days when we conducted early detection tests, both at the Institut and at the different Ecoceutics pharmacies, we attended to 120 patients. Of these, 20% have an increased risk of suffering from glaucoma. This is why we recommended that they make an appointment to see their eye doctor.

This type of campaign is virtually essential to make people aware of the importance of glaucoma. The fact that one of every two sufferers are unaware of it means that we cannot just stand by. That is why it is so important not to lose sight of the disease, not just on red-letter dates like World Glaucoma Week.

You can see a video he video from the Institut open house held on 10, 12 and 17 March: 

The post