Tags:
Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, August 30: The Delhi Opthalmological Society DOS warned of an outbreak of epidemic dropsy glaucoma, which causes irreversible blindness. Thirty cases of retinal swelling and infection have already been reported from the Deen Dayal Upadhyay and the Guru Nanak hospitals alone.
While issuing the warning at a press conference today, the DOS president G Mukherjee said, dropsy affected patients and their family members should immediately go for regular and periodic eye-pressure check-ups. It is inexpensive and can be tested at any Opthological eye-care centre.
Presence of more than 0.01 per cent of Argemone mexicana prickly yellow poppy in oil produces toxic alkaloids which pushes up the normal IOP eye-pressure from 10-20mm Hg to 70-80mm Hg leading to dilation and swelling of retinal vessels and hemorrhage of the eye and ultimately blindness.
8220;Dropsy glaucoma is bilateral, which means it affects both the eyes. So the affected person looses both the eyes if it is not detected at an early stage. Therefore, it is very important that people in dropsy affected areas must go for eye-pressure check-ups immediately,8221; said Mahipal S. Sachadev, Senior Consultant, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, who was present at the conference.
Describing a case Lalit Verma, assistant professor R.P. Opthalmological Centre, AIIMS, said a man had come in a few days ago to get his spectacles changed as he was suffering from hazy vision.8220;The back of the man8217;s retina was to be found swollen. So we questioned him and he revealed that two of his family members were admitted in hospitals for dropsy. We immediately knew the cause,8221; he related.
However, the ophthalmologists clarified that not that all patients suffering from primary dropsy are prone to dropsy glaucoma as it affects only those genetically predisposed to glaucoma. But it can also be found in people who have not been affected by the symptoms of primary dropsy.
Since the magnitude of the present epidemic is much greater than the previous epidemics, the number of people likely to be affected by dropsy glaucoma could be much higher this time.
Except for breast-feeding babies no one is exempt. Epidemiological study during the last outbreak revealed that the age of 75 per cent of the patients ranged from 11 to 40 years, glaucoma is rarely seen among this age group in normal circumstances.
Body massage or use of adulterated mustard oil in any form can also cause dropsy, they said.
