The school's role in preventing blindness from glaucoma.

A disease which has blinded 50,000 Americans and threatens to blind an additional estimated one million victims who are unaware that they have the disease warrants serious consideration in the health curriculum. That disease, glaucoma, can be neither prevented nor cured. It results when abnormal fluid dynamics within the eye cause increased pressure. The increased pressure can usually be controlled to prevent blindness from occurring. However, prevention of blindness from glaucoma requires early diagnosis and treatment. Since glaucoma is rarely accompanied by pain or warning signs, the best hope for early diagnosis is with regular eye examinations. Health education is the way to teach people the nature and consequences of glaucoma and the role each individual can play in minimizing his or her chances of becoming blind from the disease.