Australia?s largest glaucoma risk screening

The ‘Eye Screen for Ice-Cream’ public glaucoma screening will take place on Monday 11 March, and will target people aged over 40 who may not be receiving regular eye exams. In exchange for a taking the time to undergo a risk assessment, people will be given a free ice cream.The event is being hosted by Glaucoma Australia and OPSM, and claimed to be Australia’s largest ever glaucoma risk screening.During the event, OPSM’s team will be screening people for common glaucoma risk factors including age, ethnicity, diabetes, myopia, intra-ocular eye pressure and a family history of the disease. Each screening is expected to take less than three minutes.{{quote-A:R-W:400-I:2-Q:“Through this activity we aim to screen over 2000 Australians and help educate people on the risk factors associated with glaucoma.” -who:Alfonso Cerullo, general manager, OPSM}}Glaucoma Australia CEO Annie Gibbins said her organisation is delighted to be partnering with OPSM on the event.“We want to dispel the myth that glaucoma only affects the elderly and encourage anyone at risk of developing glaucoma to get their eyes tested, especially if you have a family history of glaucoma as you are 10 times more likely to develop glaucoma if you have a direct relative with it,” Gibbins said.Alfonso Cerullo, OPSM General Manager said: “OPSM is proud to partner with Glaucoma Australia to raise awareness of the importance for Australians to be screened for glaucoma and to visit their local optometrist for regular eye exams. Through this activity we aim to screen over 2000 Australians and help educate people on the risk factors associated with glaucoma.”The event is part of World Glaucoma Week, which will be held Sunday, March 10 to Saturday, March 16. The 8th World Glaucoma Congress will be held in Melbourne from Wednesday, March 27 to Saturday, March 30. More reading:Australia’s first World Glaucoma Congress to host free screenings