More than four million Americans have glaucoma, an eye disease that damages the optic nerve and destroys eyesight. However, nearly half of those with glaucoma are not even aware they have it. Are you one of them? You owe it to yourself to find out by getting a dilated eye exam. With its painless and gradual loss of vision, glaucoma comes with no early warning signs, but it can be detected during a comprehensive dilated eye exam.

In an effort to encourage Americans to make vision a health priority, the Sight & Hearing Association is joining with the National Eye Institute (NEI), one of the federal government's National Institutes of Health (NIH), in observing Healthy Vision Month. This year's observance highlights the importance for early detection of glaucoma.

Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D., director of the NEI, said, "NEI-funded research has shown that treatment during the early stages of glaucoma can control the disease and prevent future vision loss and blindness. This is why NEI encourages people at higher risk for glaucoma to get a comprehensive dilated eye exam every one to two years."

Those at higher risk for developing glaucoma include:

• African Americans over age 40
• Everyone over age 60, especially Mexican Americans
• People with a family history of the disease

"A dilated eye examination is essential to protecting the vision of those at higher risk for glaucoma," noted Anne L. Coleman, M.D., Ph.D., Frances and Ray Stark Professor of Ophthalmology at UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute and chair of the glaucoma subcommittee for NEI's National Eye Health Education Program. "If glaucoma is detected early, treatments such as medication, conventional surgery, or laser surgery can slow or stop vision loss. High pressure inside the eye, which may be associated with glaucoma, does not by itself mean that you have glaucoma. Only a dilated eye exam and evaluation of the optic nerve can tell you that."

Healthy Vision Month is an annual observance designed to raise awareness of the importance of eye care for those at risk of developing eye and vision problems. For further information and links to help you find an eye care professional in your area, visit www.nei.nih.gov/glaucoma.

To keep vision in your future, know the facts and see an eye care professional for a dilated eye exam.