Glaucoma Awareness Week 2023: Your glaucoma perspectives

Glaucoma Awareness Week is an annual event where we encourage people in the UK to talk about glaucoma. Did you know that an estimated 700,000 people in the UK have glaucoma, but half of them don’t even know it? Our goal is to prevent vision loss caused by glaucoma, and it all starts with spreading awareness about the disease.

This year, our campaign is centred around the theme “My glaucoma…” We asked people to complete this sentence in their own words and share their experiences. We want to show how different people perceive the disease, how they were diagnosed, and what it’s like to live with glaucoma every day.

We’ve turned these submissions into eye-catching artwork, which we’re displaying in busy places across the country. The message is being spread online too, with a number of social media adverts reaching hundreds of thousands of people. We’re also going on the radio to talk about the importance of regular eye examinations, commonly known as eye tests, and some of the people who shared their stories will be joining us. So, keep an ear out for us on your favourite station this week.

Here are some of the thoughts and experiences of people with glaucoma that they shared with us for the campaign.

We were thrilled that so many of members of the Glaucoma UK community engaged with the campaign. Together, we can make a real difference by making sure more people attend routine eye tests so less have to live with sight loss. If you’d like to support our future campaigning work, we are always grateful to receive donations that help fund future awareness-raising activities. You can donate using our Glaucoma Awareness Week Donation page.