By Robert Andre Emmanuel
“Nobody in Antigua needs to be blind from glaucoma [as] we have all the technology that is needed,” declared Dr Jillia Bird, optometrist and founder of the Antigua and Barbuda Glaucoma Support Group, during an interview marking World Glaucoma Day, yesterday.
Dr Bird, an optometrist with 36 years’ experience, said that Antigua possesses comprehensive resources to combat the disease, including [Sir Lester Bird] Medical Centre’s eye clinic and Medical Benefits Scheme coverage, which has included glaucoma medication since its inception.
“We have all the expertise that is needed even in tertiary glaucoma surgeries. We now have skilled personnel on island,” Dr Bird stated, adding that new laser treatments are now available locally as part of a “paradigm shift” towards more interventional approaches to glaucoma management.
Despite these resources, Dr Bird expressed frustration that patients continue to present advanced cases of what she termed the “silent thief of sight,” a condition estimated to affect 80 million people worldwide.
“About 50 percent of the people that have glaucoma are unaware that they have it because it is so silent,” Dr Bird explained. “There’s no pain, there’s no redness, there’s no blurred vision—the usual things that send people running to the doctor.”
According to Dr Bird, glaucoma supersedes both cataract and macular degeneration as the leading cause of irreversible blindness globally.
Glaucoma is defined as a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve essential for good vision. It is often caused by abnormally high pressure in the eye.
This damage can be irreversible and lead to permanent blindness if not detected and treated early.
Key symptoms to watch for include gradual loss of peripheral vision, seeing halos around lights, difficulty adjusting to low light conditions, and frequent changes in eyeglass prescriptions.
However, Dr Bird cautions that the absence of some symptoms does not indicate an absence of the disease, as many patients experience no noticeable changes until significant damage has occurred.
The disease particularly affects individuals of West African descent and operates as a circulation disorder where fluid pressure gradually damages the optic nerve.
“In my chair yesterday was a 40-year-old black man with end-stage glaucoma,” Dr Bird recounted. “If we don’t change our information abuse, this brings me to my knees at least once a month because there’s no recovering the vision that man has lost.”
Lindale Daniel, leader of the Blind and Low Vision Task Force of the Adventist Possibility Ministries and a self-described “glaucoma warrior” for 30 years, shared her personal battle with the disease during the interview.
“My greatest struggle is keeping the pressure down. If I keep the pressure down, I’ll keep blindness away,” Daniel explained, noting that she underwent a trabeculectomy procedure to improve drainage in one eye and received laser treatment as recently as December.
Daniel has observed multiple family members, including her grandfather who lived to 99, lose their sight to glaucoma. This personal experience drives her advocacy work, which includes organizing education programs in churches and conducting eye screening events.
“Last year we started our first ever eye fair and we hope to have that repeated again. We had over 100 persons who came for free testing,” Daniel said.
Dr Bird stressed that the only reason for glaucoma blindness in Antigua is “ignorance and poor understanding” of the disease, emphasizing that early detection is crucial since vision loss from glaucoma is irreversible.
“If you appear late in the disease process… you could have the best doctor in the world, your daughter could be your doctor, and you’re still going to go blind because you presented for care too late,” Dr Bird warned.
The public is invited to participate in a glaucoma awareness march scheduled for March 29 at 3 pm, beginning at the YMCA grounds and proceeding through St John’s with the event featuring testimonials from individuals living with glaucoma.
“The best defence you have is knowledge,” Daniel said.
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