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

Consultation: changing the membership structure

Glaucoma UK’s Board of Trustees is considering changing the charity’s membership model. The result would be that the trustees would become the only voting members.

The Board would continue to draw trustees from our membership and the people we support, and the charity would continue to provide opportunities for the people who use our services to influence how we deliver them.

We would welcome your views.

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Spring Bank Holiday opening hours

The Glaucoma UK helpline will be closed for the Spring Bank Holiday from Friday 28th May 2021 at 3.30pm until Monday 31 May 2021 inclusive. We will resume normal working hours on Tuesday 1 June 2021 from 9.30am. If you are experiencing any problems with your eyes during this time, please contact your local hospital A&E department for advice.

Food for glaucoma: ideas for your shopping list

When you’re faced with the news that you have a medical condition, whether it is an eye disease like glaucoma or something else, it’s natural to reflect on your lifestyle and see if there are any changes you can make to benefit your health. Our helpline sometimes receives calls asking about whether there are specific foods people can introduce into their diet to help with healthy vision.

What’s good for general health is also good for glaucoma patients: a balanced diet with the recommended five-a-day fruit and veg, regular exercise and not smoking. Drinking plenty of water is important to keep your body hydrated and can be especially beneficial for people who have dry eyes.

Lots of the minerals, vitamins and other chemicals in foods are thought to be beneficial for our vision. Here are some examples: 

Please remember these will not improve the vision you have lost due to your glaucoma but consuming them might help you stay fit and healthy now and in the future. Also, proving the beneficial effects of certain chemicals is very difficult – research is ongoing, and we cannot say conclusively any food or chemical will prevent or protect against glaucoma or other vision loss. We have also listed a few herbs and spices which are recommended for good eye health. So, you can add them to your next shopping list!...

Glaucoma Awareness Week 2021 theme revealed

Glaucoma Awareness Week 2021 takes place on 28 June – 4 July 2021 and this year’s theme is family and loved ones.

What is Glaucoma Awareness Week and why does it matter?

Glaucoma Awareness Week is an annual awareness-raising opportunity where we encourage people across the UK to talk about glaucoma. Over 700,000 people in the UK have glaucoma. Half of them don’t know they have it. We want to end preventable glaucoma sight loss and that starts with raising awareness of the disease.

Family and loved ones: what’s the story behind this year’s theme?

Find out more on our page dedicated to Glaucoma Awareness Week

New cookbook for the visually impaired available to order

Glaucoma UK friend and author Simon Mahoney whose book ‘A Descent into Darkness’ we have previously featured on our website, has written another book ‘First Catch Your Rabbit! Or Cooking Without Fear’. It’s full of delicious recipes hints and tips and fabulous support ideas to help blind and partially sighted people make meals independently. You can purchase it on our website here.

Having served in the Royal Marines in the 1960s, Simon developed glaucoma at the age of  66 and completely lost his sight three years ago He found support from several charities, including Glaucoma UK.

“Glaucoma UK has helped me remain positive when adapting to life with sight loss. The charity gave me practical guidance and information as well as listening to my concernsMy sight loss was preventable. I missed vital check-ups I didn’t have an eye test for about two years and when I did it was too late, I’d lost significant sight. Sight loss happens all too easily as we look through our eyes and not at them and therefore we tend to ignore them.”...

May bank holiday helpline opening times

The Glaucoma UK Helpline will be closed for the May Day Bank holiday on Monday 3^rd May 2021.

We will resume normal working hours on Tuesday 4^th May 2021 from 09.30.

If you are experiencing any problems with your eyes during this time, please contact your local hospital A&E department for advice.

Easter helpline opening hours

The Glaucoma UK helpline will be closed for the Easter holiday from Friday 2 April 2021 until Monday 5 April 2021 inclusive.

We will resume normal working hours on Tuesday 6 April 2021 from 09.30am.

If you are experiencing any problems with your eyes during this time, please contact your local hospital A&E department for advice.

Need to speak to the DVLA? Use their digital services to avoid delays 

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has formally notified the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) that they are asking their members to take strike action between Tuesday 6 April and Friday 9 April 2021. It is not clear at this stage what the impact of this action will be, should it go ahead.  

The DVLA have put contingency measures in place to mitigate the impact on paper application services if the strike action goes ahead. Their online services will remain available should strike action occur, and are the quickest way to interact with the DVLA.  

Where possible, if you need assistance from the DVLA, please use their digital services to avoid any unnecessary delays.  

For information and to access the DVLA digital services, please go to www.gov.uk/browse/driving 

An update on our compliance aids

Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, we are currently only providing a limited range of compliance aids.

The aids we have available can be ordered on our website or by calling 01233 64 81 70:

Thea Eyot
Drop Aid

The following aids are available free on prescription and you will be able to find them at a number of different outlets. We have listed some retailers below, but you may also find them available elsewhere:

Opticare: available via the RNIB, Amazon, Chemist.net
Opticare Arthro 10: available via IC Vision, Chemist.net, Weldrick’s Pharmacy
Opticare Arthro 5: available via IC Vision, Chemist.net, Weldrick’s Pharmacy

There are also aids which are not available on prescription. Below is a list of retailers who stock them, but they may also be available from other outlets:

Auto squeeze: available via Amazon, MedScope, MedicalShop
Auto drop: available via the RNIB, Amazon, Chemist.net
Cool wallets, to keep your eye drops cool in warm weather. Large wallets hold up to three bottles, while small ones just hold one bottle: Available from Frio (large and small), Amazon (large and small), Diabetic Supply (large and small)

Due to staff availability, please allow 28 days for delivery of any orders you have placed with us. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by the disruption to our services.

If you would like any further advice on how to put in your eye drops, please visit our website or call our helpline team on 01233 64 81 70 or email helpline@glaucoma.uk

Kasper paves the way for his peers

Seven-year-old Kasper Mason recently got in touch to share the fantastic poster he drew for Glaucoma UK as part of his homeschooling work. His mum, Philippa, believes it’s important to teach children about looking after their eyes from a young age, in the hope they carry this habit on into adult life.

Philippa, who works as a Development Manager for Glaucoma UK, said “Kasper is currently being homeschooled due to the COVID-19 lockdown, and one of the tasks for his Health and Wellbeing class was to research a charity and design a poster for them. Kasper decided that he wanted to do one for Glaucoma UK.”...

Glaucoma UK helpline closed between Monday 25 January and Wednesday 27 January

Due to ongoing staff illness, we’ve made the difficult decision to close our glaucoma helpline on Monday 25 January, reopening Thursday 28 January.

If you need to speak to someone when our helpline is closed, these contacts may be helpful:...

Could peer support help you live well with glaucoma?

Whether you’re newly diagnosed or have lived with glaucoma for years, talking to others who are living with glaucoma is a great way to share your experiences. It gives you support from people who really understand how you are feeling. Under normal circumstances, these conversations would usually take place in hospital waiting rooms or at a patient event. However, the COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing means that such opportunities aren’t currently possible.

Because of this, we’d like to pilot a digital peer-to-peer support group, where you can meet a small number of people online or by phone to have a chat, share your experiences and ask questions....