According to data, the number of Koreans suffering from glaucoma has been on the rise.
Experts say people should take precautionary measures...as the disease is very difficult to detect in its early stages and in worst case, could lead to permanent vision loss.
Cho Sung-min reports.

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness globally, according to the World Health Organization, affecting more than seventy million people around the world.
Data show the number of glaucoma patients is set to reach thirty seven million by 2020 in Asia alone,...and Korea is contributing heavily on raising the continental figure to the estimated total.
Data collected for four years since 2012 show that the number of patients that received glaucoma treatment in Korea surpassed eight-hundred-thousand in 2016.
That is nearly forty percent more than the figure registered in 2012.

Glaucoma does unrepairable damage to optic nerves.
Detecting the disease is difficult, since its symptoms appear gradually and are very difficult to detect in its early stages.
As such, many patients diagnosed with glaucoma are already at risk of losing vision in one or both eyes.

According to experts, some people are at higher risk of contracting glaucoma, so they urged them to have a precautionary checkup as soon as possible.

"In addition to people who have a family history of glaucoma cases, people over forty years old or with diabetes or high blood pressure have a higher chance of getting the disease."

Other than frequently checking in for examination...doctors say people can cut down possibility of damaging their optic nerves, by quitting smoking and avoiding alcoholic beverages.
Cho Sung-min, arirang news.