Glaucoma UK is a small charity but has a big impact!

Excellence in Glaucoma Care Awards 2020

We’d like to recognise the professionals or volunteers who make a real difference to the lives of people living with glaucoma. So we’re asking for nominations for our ‘Excellence in Glaucoma Care Awards 2020’.

You can nominate an individual or team from any field of glaucoma care, maybe someone who provided just the right information at the right time, or someone who gave you time and emotional support when you needed it most. It could be an excellent surgeon or nurse, an optometrist who gave you sight-saving advice, a volunteer who runs a great Support Group, or someone who’s made a breakthrough in glaucoma research.

To nominate someone who has made a real difference to you, please either email or write and tell us:...

Ganfort eye drops packaging – what’s been your experience?

Our Helpline has recently received a call from one of our members who has experienced great difficulty in removing the plastic seal covering the cap from Ganfort eye drops. The seal is very hard and the tag breaks off.

Allergan UK, who manufacture the drops, are looking into the issue. If you have experienced the same difficulties, please get in touch with Allergan UK on 01628 49 72 85 or email ukcustomerservices@allergan.com to report the problem. A solution may be found if they are aware that it is a widespread issue, so it will be helpful for them to have feedback from a variety of people.

Glaucoma Support Group: Glaucoma eye tests – How they work and what they tell us

On Tuesday 17 November 2020, we were joined by Lisa Cowan, Hospital Optometrist and Senior Specialist Glaucoma Lead for NHS Education Scotland, who talked about glaucoma eye tests.

Our new digital support groups allow you to have your questions answered from the comfort of your own home. For details of our next meeting and to find out how to sign-up, click here.

Digital Support Group: Dry eye disease

Our brand new digital support groups allow you to attend from the comfort of your own home and have your questions answered.

This support group was held on Wednesday 4 November 2020. We were joined by Mr David Lunt, Consultant Ophthalmologist at South Tees Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, who spoke about Dry Eye Disease.

If you would like to attend one of our upcoming meetings, sign up here

The Glaucoma UK Lottery has officially launched!

Our new weekly lottery has launched today and is giving you the chance to win up to £25,000 every Friday! Could it be you?

For just £1 a week you’ll have the chance to win £25,000 every week. There are also smaller prizes of £1,000, £25 and five entries into the next draw. Having one number will give you a 1 in 63 chance of winning a prize each Friday.

Every entry you play in the Glaucoma UK Lottery will help to raise funds for sight-saving research and to support people living with glaucoma. So what are you waiting for? To find out more and join online, click here.

Opticians are remaining open and can see you safely during lockdown

With COVID-19 restrictions already in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Government has announced new national restrictions in England, effective from Thursday 5 November. It is hoped these restrictions will help to reduce the spread of the virus. Opticians are classed as essential healthcare providers, so you can still visit them for eye appointments during this period.

Your local opticians are taking every precaution to provide a safe and secure environment for their staff and customers during these unsettling times. To ensure maximum safety, they are taking all the steps needed to adhere to the required cleanliness and hygiene standards in all stores. Social distancing measures have also been put in place. All staff will be equipped with PPE, and there should be signage around the store to help guide and direct you safely.

Please help your local store by attending your appointment alone if possible, bringing your own pen, and wearing a face covering or mask.

If you have specific questions about an existing appointment or want to book an eye appointment, you should contact your local opticians directly.

If you have any concerns, our glaucoma helpline team are always here to support you. You can reach them on 01233 64 81 70 or helpline@glaucoma.uk. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 5:00pm.

Hospital appointments during a second lockdown

With Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland already living under nation-specific lockdown levels, England will be entering a nation-wide lockdown from Thursday 5 November. We have received many calls from people living with glaucoma who are concerned that their treatment and upcoming procedures may be disrupted or cancelled during this time.

In response to these concerns, we have reached out to a number of glaucoma consultants for their feedback. They anticipate that appointments will continue, however should hospital admissions for coronavirus rapidly increase then ophthalmology staff may be redeployed to the COVID-19 wards. These will be junior staff in a first instance, to allow consultants to continue seeing their patients and proceed with any upcoming surgeries.

The intention is still to provide a level of service where possible, therefore if you have been told that you have an appointment, this will hopefully still stand. But should COVID-19 numbers rise sharply, there is a possibility that some appointments and surgeries may be cancelled due to more ophthalmology staff being needed on the COVID-19 wards.

As per the first lockdown, individuals will be assessed and priority given to urgent cases.

If you have any concerns or need advice, particularly during these uncertain times, our glaucoma helpline team are always here to support you. You can reach them on 01233 64 81 70 or helpline@glaucoma.uk. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 5:00pm.

Glaucoma and air travel

People with glaucoma can usually fly on an airplane without any problems.

Controlled air pressure inside the airplane’s cabin makes up for most of the natural drop in pressure when the plane reaches higher altitudes. A moderate decrease in atmospheric pressure will not cause an obvious rise in eye pressure.

It is always advisable to put your glaucoma drops in your hand-luggage when travelling. The air inside a plane can be dry. If you have ocular surface disease (dry eyes), or are on a long-haul flight, you may need to put drops in while in the air....

Today is World Sight Day!

We, at Glaucoma UK, hope you are keeping on top of your eye health and we are here to help and support you. To celebrate World Sight Day, you could become a member of Glaucoma UK.

Becoming part of our glaucoma community as a member means you will receive a welcome pack and our quarterly membership magazine delivered to your door. You’ll also receive email invites to events we think will interest you and information about support available to help you and others live well with glaucoma. We’ll send you email communications about glaucoma research and campaigns.

For information or advice, please call our helpline on 01233 64 81 70 or email helpline@glaucoma.uk

To see our membership options, please click here, alternatively, you can call 01233 64 81 64 or email member@glaucoma.uk

Glaucoma UK £100,000 PhD Studentship closing soon

Each year Glaucoma UK provide a range of research funding opportunities. Earlier in the year we announced up to £100,000 is available for a PhD Studentship to start in 2021. There is only one month to go before the closing date for applications, 30 October 2020.

We welcome proposals that are hypothesis driven, innovative, involve high quality scientific methodologies and are supported by robust preliminary data.

The award will be made on a fully competitive and peer reviewed basis.

Applications will be assessed according to scientific merit, the likelihood of a conclusive outcome, potential impact, quality of supporting evidence and value for money. The project should also include high quality training and development opportunities for the PhD student.

Read more and apply

Radio 4 In Touch: Glaucoma UK experts answer your questions

Karen Osborn, Chief Executive at Glaucoma UK, and Gus Gazzard, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at Moorfields Eye hospital and member of Glaucoma UK’s Clinical Advisory Panel will be answering listeners’ questions about glaucoma tonight (22 September 2020) on Radio 4’s In Touch at 8:40 pm. 

Karen and Gus will answer listener’s concerns and questions on glaucoma topics including information about glaucoma medication shortages after the Brexit transition and information about laser treatment. 

Tune in to Radio 4s In Touch programme this evening to hear the discussion or listen on-demand after the show here.

National Eye Health Week 2020 is here!

We’re launching a new campaign for National Eye Health Week (21 – 27 September 2020) to give people living with glaucoma and dry eye disease confidence that their diagnosis shouldn’t hold them back from taking part in digital activities.

Please click here for further information.

Do you have glaucoma? We would love your input!

We would love to hear your opinions and experiences of attending virtual glaucoma clinics during lockdown. How is the experience different to normal? What is good, bad or just worth commenting on? Please send comments to helpline@glaucoma.uk.

Are you interested in getting involved in filming discussions? This is for a series of webinars we’re doing, presenting patients’ experiences. You would be paired with someone else who has glaucoma, and have a guided conversation about your experiences of having glaucoma and attending appointments/receiving treatment etc. It would take around 2 hours of your time, and be done via Zoom or other video chat software. If interested or to find out more, contact Joanna Bradley on j.bradley@glaucoma.uk.

We’re also doing work on improving our booklets and other written information to make them easier to read. We need input from people with glaucoma to ensure we’re explaining everything really clearly and simply. To get involved, please contact helpline@glaucoma.uk. If you ever find health information (provided by Glaucoma UK, doctors or anyone else) difficult to read, we especially want to hear from you!

Thank you.

Interview | Sore eyes from screens? Here's what your optometrist says