Marina Virdone can’t imagine not being a school teacher. She says next to taking care of her own children, teaching is her second greatest love. But, three years ago, life as Marina knew it was about to change. Marina had developed a severe eye infection that eventually turned into glaucoma.

“I said, my God, I’m young and I have children. I can’t afford to go blind,” says Marina Virdone.

At the young age of 39, Marina was faced with the possibility of losing her eyesight if she didn’t seek glaucoma treatment. “I had always thought of it as a disease that affects the elderly,” says Marina.

But, according to the National Glaucoma Research Program, in the United States, approximately two million people age 40 and older have glaucoma and of these, as many as 120,000 are blind due to the disease.

“While glaucoma is still your grandmother’s disease, it also is your mother’s disease. Glaucoma is more common than we thought, primarily because patients are starting to do much better screening exams at the age of 40. We’ve got better instruments that were never around a couple of years ago, instruments that measure the visual field, that measure the nerve fiber layer. We use a lot of computers and lasers in the diagnostic tests,” says Dr. Lawrence Jindra of Floral Park Ophthalmology.

Glaucoma is actually a group of eye diseases that leads to damage of the optic nerve, the bundle of nerve fibers that carries information from the eye to the brain. Optic nerve damage usually occurs when there is elevated pressure in the eye caused by a back-up of fluid in the eye. As pressure in the eye builds, the nerve cells become compressed causing them to become damaged and eventually die. The death of these cells results in permanent vision loss.

Early treatment for glaucoma usually begins with medications, pills, ointments or eye drops that either help the eye to drain fluid more effectively, or cause it to produce less fluid. Several types of laser surgery can also help drain fluid from the eye.

For her glaucoma treatment, Marina opted for a cold laser therapy. Optimal fluid pressure in the eye is 12-14. After Marina’s first cold laser glaucoma treatment her pressure dropped from 26 to 12.

“By the time I’m done with the glaucoma treatment and I shut the laser off, most patients are still wondering whether it’s started. It’s that painless, it’s that quick and it’s that easy,” says Dr. Jindra.

Once nearly crippled by glaucoma, Marina says the laser therapy gave her, her life back.

“I will still be able to teach, be able to read my students papers, and most importantly, I’ll be able to take care of my children,” says Marina.

Early detection is the key to successful glaucoma treatment. High-risk factors for glaucoma include being African-American and over 40, having a family history of the disease, and being over 60 for the general population. Those who are very nearsighted, have a history of diabetes, have experienced eye injury or eye surgery or take prescription steroids also have an increased risk of developing glaucoma.

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