Mind the eyes
WHILE STUDYING medicine at the University of the Philippines in the early 1990s, Dr. Lawrence S. Tinio developed an affinity for ophthalmology. That branch of medicine dealing with the eyes was, he said, a “perfect fit for me.”
And so he specialized in ophthalmology, even though the study was not as popular as pediatrics, internal medicine and surgery among the med students at the time.
“Unless you really like it, you really don’t give it much attention,” Dr. Tinio, now an ophthalmologist and glaucoma specia l ist , told BusinessWorld in an interview.
Like ophthalmology back then, human eyes don’t get as much attention as they should. “You really don’t get interested in the eyes unless you start getting sick,” said Dr. Tinio, who works at Medical Center Manila, Paulino Garcia Medical Center, Good Samaritan Hospital and Baypointe Medical Center.
This behavior is dangerous, for it can lead to conditions with nasty, lifechanging consequences.
Glaucoma is one such condition. It’s a disorder characterized by progressive damage to the optic nerve. If left untreated and uncontrolled, glaucoma results in blindness.
According to Dr. Tinio, many people are not familiar with glaucoma not because of the dearth of information about it, but because it’s not something one has a lot of encounters with, unlike, say, diabetes and hypertension.
Glaucoma doesn’t manifest early enough. Those who are afflicted with it don’t feel immediate eye pain and discomfort or blurred vision, symptoms that will compel almost anyone to consult a physician in no time.
“The typical Filipino attitude is that if there’s no pain, I don’t need to see a doctor,” Dr. Tinio said.
“A lot of people with glaucoma don’t lose their center vision until the later stages,” he said. It’s the peripheral vision that disappears first, but the change is hardly noticeable.
“You’re actually losing a lot of your eyesight before you actually know that you’re losing your eyesight,” Dr. Tinio said, adding that a person with glaucoma may still have 20/20 vision.
Dr. Tinio said that the most common form of glaucoma affecting Filipinos is the angle-closure or closed-angle glaucoma, which is marked by intense pain in the eyes. “But when you feel pain, it is already too late.”
One of the risk factors for glaucoma is genetics; chances of developing the disorder is higher if a family member or relative already has it. Others include age, medical conditions like diabetes and hypertension, and physical injuries to the eye.
The worst thing about glaucoma is that it still has no cure. The good news is that it can be controlled and prevented from getting worse.
“Everybody should visit an eye doctor at least once a year” and request a full examination, Dr. Tinio recommended.
He also floated an idea lawmakers would do well to heed: a mandatory national eye screening program for kids to reduce the chances of these kids having eye problems in the future.
Thanks to advances in pharmacology and technology, fighting glaucoma isn’t as difficult as it once was. With new machines like optical coherence tomography or OCT, it’s easier to make accurate diagnosis and monitor the disease.
There are now around a dozen medications available, compared to just two in the past, Dr. Tinio noted, as well as laser treatments and minimally invasive surgeries. Dr. Tinio pointed out that surgeries, often the final resort, “are more efficient” and “far more successful.”
Things could change for the worse, though. That’s why glaucoma patients can’t afford not to call on their doctors on a regular basis.
“The rule of thumb is small problems are easily treated when they’re identified early,” Dr. Tinio said.
“A lot of people with glaucoma don’t lose their center vision until the later stage. You’re actually losing a lot of your eyesight before you actually know that you’re losing your eyesight.”