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Prevention and awareness are the only things that can save you from blindness
The regular Sunday meeting of the Pattaya City Expats
Club got underway at the Amari’s Henry J. Beans Restaurant on Sunday, March
22, when master of ceremonies (emcee) Les Edmonds welcomed everyone to the
meeting, especially new guests who were afforded an opportunity to introduce
themselves if they wished.
 Dr
Santa Methasiri, Ophthalmologist at Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, gave a most
eloquent presentation on the importance of early detection of glaucoma.
After the usual opening announcements, emcee Les mentioned that nurses from
Bangkok Hospital Pattaya (BHP) were giving free blood pressure checks in the
back alcove. He then introduced the guest speaker from BHP, Dr. Santa
Methasiri, MD, noting that Dr. Santa received his medical degree from
Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, in 1996 and has been a Diplomat of
the Thai Board of Ophthalmology since 2002. Further, that he started his
career as a navy ophthalmologist and holds the rank of lieutenant commander
in the Royal Thai Navy. Currently, he is a glaucoma consultant to BHP and
Bangkok Hospital Rayong.
Dr. Santa began by saying glaucoma is a serious eye disease that leads to
blindness. He wanted everyone to know the risks, symptoms, and the treatment
that was available. He then mentioned several common eye diseases such as
cataracts, pterygium pinguecula (eye irritation common in Thailand), and
diabetes retinopy (bleeding in the eye).
He said that he chose to discuss glaucoma because it is an eye disease that
is irreversible. Once discovered, it can be treated, but only for the
prevention of further deterioration. He explained that glaucoma is a slow
progressive optic nerve disease that is the second leading cause of
blindness. Before one knows they have glaucoma, their vision is already
affected. The reason is because glaucoma slowly destroys the peripheral
visual field and, as it progresses, it affects the central vision. In most
cases there are no symptoms, he said, so most often detection occurs during
an eye examination being made for other reasons.
 Lovely
Ann from the International Department of Bangkok Hospital Pattaya awards
prizes of free eye tests at BHP, which were eagerly sought after by PCEC
members.
Dr. Santa then described several factors that places one at risk for
glaucoma, such as: (1) having high eye pressure; (2) being older than 45
years; (3) having a family history of glaucoma; (4) being very short
(myopia) or far (hyperopia) sighted; (5) using steroid eye drops for an
extended period; (6) being a member of the African race, which is four times
more likely to suffer glaucoma than Caucasians; (7) having an abnormal
circulatory disease such as diabetes or hypertension; and (8) suffering from
sleep apnea (pauses in breathing during sleep). He recommended that those at
risk for glaucoma have an eye examination every year.
He mentioned that in the past, glaucoma was generally defined as having
increased eye pressure. However, today, intraocular pressure is recognized
as one of the risk factors and that glaucoma is now defined as a
degeneration of the optic nerve resulting in visual field loss, which if
untreated can progress to blindness.
Dr. Santa noted that there are two types of glaucoma. The most common is
open angle glaucoma, which is found in Caucasian more than Asian eyes due to
the largeness of the eyeball. The other type is angle closure glaucoma,
which is found mostly in Asians. These forms of glaucoma may appear as
chronic or acute. Chronic glaucoma does not show any signs of nerve damage
or visual disturbances; whereas acute glaucoma does display symptoms - eye
pain and redness of the eye along with blurred vision.
Dr. Santa said a thorough eye examination is most often needed to detect
glaucoma. He then showed pictures of some of the test equipment and
described their use for tests involving: (1) eye examination with a slit
lamp; (2) gonioscopy, which is an examination of the fluid or aqueous flow
in the eye; (3) optic nerve (fundus) examination and photography; (4) visual
field examination; and (5) special examination of the nerve fiber thickness
with optical coherence tomography (non-contact laser scan within the eye).
For the fundus examination, a camera is used so that the doctor can compare
the pictures taken previously to evaluate the progression of any optic nerve
deterioration.
Once glaucoma is diagnosed, the next step is for the doctor to develop a
plan for treatment and follow-up. Although glaucoma is irreversible, Dr.
Santa said the main goal of treatment is to maintain the optic nerve
function and thickness as much as possible. The method of treatment can be
through medication to lower the eye pressure, use of a laser to increase the
flow of fluid within the eye (usually in narrow angle or angle closure
types), or surgery in cases that do not respond to medication.
He reminded everyone that if you lose your vision, it will not come back.
Prevention and awareness are the only things that can save you from
blindness.
In closing, he presented the audience with a quiz that covered the main
points of his talk. For each question, he awarded the first correct answerer
with a voucher for a free glaucoma examination at BHP. But, for those that
were not lucky enough to win a free voucher, Ann from BHP handed out a
voucher to receive a complete eye examination package for 1,800 baht that is
regularly priced at 4,150 baht. Ann noted that this voucher was available
only to those in attendance at the PCEC meeting.
Dr. Santa then answered many questions from the audience, not only about
glaucoma, but also about other eye diseases. Emcee Les then updated everyone
on upcoming events in and around Pattaya and called on Hawaii Bob to conduct
the always informative and often humorous Open Forum where information is
shared on living in Pattaya and Thailand.
All items on sale now at Ursula’s Antiques
Ursula’s Antiques is one of the few shops in town that offers
unique oriental style furniture and home décor, concentrating on artistic and
creative styles, mixed with Chinese antique furniture.
 Ursula’s
Antiques is offering up to 70% discounts on all merchandise.
For the next month or so, there is the biggest clearance sale going on here,
where all items are discounted up to 70%.
If you are furnishing your home, or adding exotic items to it, you have to hurry
up; things are clearing out very fast.
Ursula’s Antiques is located on Third Road, near the Pattaya Driving Range.
250,000 baht
donated to the
‘Angel Andrea’ home
Neville and Mayuree Krogh present
a check for 250,000 baht to the Human Help Network Pattaya.
Elfi Seitz
Neville and Mayuree Krogh from Hong Kong’s United Group visited the
Pattaya Orphanage to hand over a check worth 250,000 baht to Radchada Chomjinda,
director of Human Help Network Pattaya and head of the Pattaya Orphanage.
The money was raised at a United Group charity dinner. In addition, the children
received lunch, having the choice between crispy chicken and hearty hamburgers,
also sponsored by the generous couple.
Radchada will use the money for the ‘Angel Andrea Therapy Home,’ which will
shortly be opened at the orphanage. Handy plastic furniture, playground
equipment, countless toys and a ‘ball house’ will provide for lots of
entertainment for the toddlers.
The history of the home is a touching one. It was financed by a German married
couple (who prefer to remain anonymous) who lost their daughter Andrea in a
tragic accident. They used to call her ‘little angel,’ and when they established
this everlasting memorial, they named the building ‘Angel Andrea.’
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