Free glaucoma tests

[NewsWhore]

Twenty-two public health facilities are to provide free tests for glaucoma, the second major cause of blindness in the country after cataracts, the leading cause of irreversible blindness. This Saturday, starting at 8am until noon, testing will be carried out by members of the Dominican Ophthalmology Society and the Northern Ophthalmology Group. The hope is that these tests will help slow down the growth of the disease in the country. The initiative is part of Glaucoma Month, and glaucoma affects as much as 2% of the Dominican population. Doctor Margarita Arbaje Khoury, a member of the organizing committee for the 2009 National Glaucoma Detection Campaign, said that the goal is to detect glaucoma cases that have not be diagnosed in time, and, although it is an incurable disease, it can be controlled and total blindness can be avoided if it is detected early enough. The hospitals that will be doing the testing include the Elias Santana in Los Alcarrizos, Luis Eduardo Aybar, National Diabetes Hospital, Salvador B. Gautier, Instituto Contra la Ceguera por Glaucoma, General de la Policia Nacional, Patronato Nacional de Ciegos, and the Asociacion Hora de Dios in the capital. In the provinces, hospitals including the Jose Maria Cabral y Baez, Infantil Arturo Grullon, Patronato de Ciegos de Santiago, Hospital Ojos, Monumento Viviente, Toribio Bencosme (Salcedo), Traumatologia Juan Bosch, Ricardo Limardo (Puerto Plata), San Vicente de Paul and Jaime Mota.

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