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Manila: An estimated 100,000 Filipinos, mostly elders, are suffering from glaucoma, an eye condition that is usually undiagnosed during early stages but proves to be debilitating over the years.
Doctors however say that there could be more people affected by the disease since the last census commissioned by the National Institutes of Health of the University of the Philippines done on eye diseases was in 2000. The country had 76.5 million inhabitants at that time.
"One third of those patients are not aware of it while people who are at high risk of developing the disease are not seeking care," said Dr. Marge Luna, board member of the Philippine Glaucoma Society in a press briefing yesterday.
Glaucoma is the third leading cause of blindness in the Philippines next to cataract and error in refraction, Luna told reporters.
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