Stafford woman tells of her battle against blindness to highlight need for testing

A STAFFORD grandmother who has successfully battled to overcome one of the most common causes of blindness has emphasised the need to have regular eye checks as part of World Glaucoma Day.

Cynthia Powell’s sight was only saved by the quick actions of her Stafford optician who spotted the symptoms of her chronic glaucoma at her yearly eye test.

Mincher-Lockett Opticians, in Stafford Street, took part in the international glaucoma awareness day this month, by offering a free test which can spot a key symptom of the disease.

“My experience demonstrates how dangerous glaucoma can be, I could have lost my sight permanently and I couldn’t tell I had it, which just shows the importance of getting your eyes tested regularly,” said Mrs Powell, 65, from Littleworth.

About 500,000 people in England and Wales have glaucoma which causes damage to the optic nerve resulting in progressive and irreversible loss of sight and finally blindness.

Nicknamed ‘the sneak thief of sight’, because it has no noticeable symptoms, it is estimated that half of sufferers do not realise they have the condition. The third annual World Glaucoma Day aims to encourage more people to get their eyes tested regularly, early diagnosis means eyesight loss can be prevented.

As part of the drive Mincher-Lockett Opticians offered free eye pressure checks at the practice on the awareness day.

The raised pressure in Mrs Powell’s eye, a common indicator of glaucoma, was noticeably above the normal level and was spotted immediately during her annual check-up at Mincher-Lockett Opticians.

Her mother, Mary, had also suffered from the condition, so Mrs Powell had been identified as being at a higher risk of getting the condition and was having more regular eye tests than is usual.

After her eye test at Mincher-Lockett Opticians Mrs Powell was treated by a specialist ophthalmologist at Stafford Hospital,and she now uses eye drops to control the glaucoma which have prevented any loss of vision.

“It was terrifying realising that suddenly my eye sight was at risk, and I hadn’t even known anything was wrong. If I hadn’t gone along to the optician when I did I could easily have lost some of my vision which I couldn’t have got back,” said the retired fire service cook.

“The treatment I got at Mincher-Lockett Opticians and at the hospital was first class, they spotted it straight away and I got the right treatment. The quick action at Mincher-Lockett’s and their expertise meant my sight wasn’t damaged.

“I knew I was at risk but I still got glaucoma even though I was being checked regularly, which just shows how important it is for people who think their eyesight is fine to get it tested.

“The dangerous thing about glaucoma is that there are no symptoms so you don’t know you’ve got it until you start losing your sight and that loss in permanent.

“It is tempting when we get a reminder from the optician to think there’s no need to have an eye test but for glaucoma you can’t ignore that reminder you do need to book an opticians appointment,” she warned.

People aged 40 and above are particularly at risk of getting the disease. Offering the free tests on World Glaucoma Day was part of Mincher-Lockett’s Look Good at 40 campaign which celebrates the practice’s 40th anniversary by encouraging people aged 40 and above to take their eye health seriously.

Jan Goodwin the optician at Mincher-Lockett Opticians said: “Simple tests can easily spot the symptoms of glaucoma so it can be stopped in its tracks, so it’s so important to have regular eye tests.

“The 40s and over are particularly at risk so as we celebrate 40 years at Mincher-Lockett’s we are targeting those 40-somethings and older in a number of ways to help them maintain good eye health,” she said.