Portland observer., July 11, 2012, Page 8, Image 8

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Stop Glaucoma from Taking Your Sight
You lock aw ay your valuables to
keep them safe. But th e re ’s one
valuable you m ay have forgotten:
Y our sight. If you are A frican A m eri­
can age 40 or older, have diabetes,
or have a fam ily history o f g lau ­
com a, you are at higher risk.
G la u c o m a is a g ro u p o f d is ­
e ase s th a t can d a m a g e th e o p tic
n e rv e o f the ey e an d re su lt in v i­
sion lo ss and b lin d n e ss. P rim a ry
o p e n -a n g le g la u c o m a is th e m o st
c o m m o n form . In th is c o n d itio n ,
flu id b u ild s up in the fro n t c h a m ­
b er o f the eye, an d the o p tic n erv e
is d a m a g e d by th e re s u ltin g in ­
c re a se in eye p re ssu re .
BY
N e YAL J .
AMMARY-RISCH
"G lau c o m a a ffe cts m o re than
tw o m illion p eople n atio n w id e and
is a le ad in g c a u se o f v isio n lo ss
an d b lin d n e ss in A frica n A m e ri­
c a n s. In fact, A frica n A m e ric an s
are at risk o f d e v e lo p in g it at an
e a rlie r age. G lau co m a has no early
w a rn in g sig n s o r sy m p to m s, and
m o st p eo p le d o n ’t know th is," said
D r. Ja m e s T sa i, c h a ir o f the G la u ­
c o m a S u b c o m m itte e fo r the N a ­
tio n al E ye In stitu te (N E I) N atio n al
E ye H e alth E d u c a tio n P ro g ra m
(N E H E P ). "It’s very im portant that
p e o p le d o n ’t w ait u n til th ey no-
tice a p ro b le m w ith th e ir v isio n to
h av e an ey e ex am ."
A s glaucom a progresses, a p er­
son m ay eventually notice his o r her
side vision decreasing. If the d is­
ease is left untreated, the field o f
vision narrow s and vision loss m ay
result. "M ost studies show that at
least h a lf o f all persons w ith g lau ­
com a d o n ’t know they have this
p o tentially blinding disease," said
Dr. Paul Sieving, d irecto r o f N EI,
N ational Institutes o f H ealth.
" G la u c o m a c a n b e d e te c te d
through a com prehensive dilated
eye exam . NEI encourages all people
at higher risk o f g laucom a - A frican
A m ericans age 40 and older; e v ery ­
one age 60, esp ecially M exican
A m ericans; and those w ith a fam ily
history o f glaucom a - to get a dilated
eye exam every one to tw o years,
because early detection and treat­
m ent m ay save y o u r sight."
A c o m p reh en siv e d ila te d eye
exam is a painless procedure. D rops
are p laced in y o u r eyes to dilate, or
w iden, the pupils. T his allow s your
eye care professional to see inside
your eye and exam ine the optic nen/e
for signs o f dam age and other v i­
sion problem s.
If you have M edicare, are A fri­
can A m erican age 50 or older, and
have d iabetes o r a fam ily h istory o f
glaucom a, you m ay be eligible for a
lo w -co st, c o m p reh en siv e dilated
eye exam through the M edicare
benefit fo r eye health.
C all 1-800-M E D IC A R E o r visit
w w w .m edicare.gov for m ore infor­
m ation. T o find out about other
possible financial assistance for eye
care, visit w w w .nei.nih.gov/health/
financial aid.asp.
K eep vision in y o u r future. For
m ore inform ation about glaucom a,
v isitw w w .n ei.n ih .g o v /g lau co m ao r
call N EI at 301-496-5248.
Neyal J. Ammary-Risch, MPH,
MCHES is the director o f the Na­
tional Eye Health Education Pro­
gram at the National Institutes of
Health.
Free Tests for AIDS Prevention
Increased access to AIDS test
available at local pharamcies
a local h e alth d e p a rtm e n t o r o th e r
h e alth c are p ro v id e rs fo r a lab
b lo o d te st to c o n firm th e re su lts,
c o u n s e lin g an d tre a tm e n t. T h e
(A P ) — G e ttin g a n A ID S te st at F e n t o n , w h o o v e r s e e s th e w o rk e rs are e x p e c te d to d e liv e r
the d ru g sto re c o u ld b e c o m e as a g e n c y 's H IV p re v e n tio n p r o ­ the n ew s fa c e -to -fa c e and g iv e
c o m m o n as a flu sh o t o r b lo o d g ra m s, said in a statem e n t.
c u sto m e rs p riv a c y , th e C D C said.
p re ssu re c h ec k , if a new p ilo t p ro ­
T h e te sts are alre ad y a v a ila b le
A n estim ated 1.1 m illion A m eri­
gram ta k es off.
at sev en p la ce s, in c lu d in g W a sh ­ can s are in fe c te d w ith H IV , b u t as
T he $ 1.2 m illio n p ro g ra m w ill in g to n , D .C ., O ak lan d , C a lif., and m any as 2 0 p e rc en t o f th em d o n 't
o ffe r the free ra p id H IV te sts at an In d ia n h e a lth serv ice c lin ic in k n o w th e y c a rry th e v iru s, a c ­
p h a rm a c ie s and in -sto re c lin ic s in M o n tan a. T h e C D C w ill so o n pick c o rd in g to th e C D C . It can ta k e a
24 c itie s an d ru ral c o m m u n itie s , 17 m o re lo c a tio n s.
d e ca d e o r m o re fo r an in fe c tio n to
the C e n te rs fo r D isea se C o n tro l
T h e H IV te st is a sw ab in sid e c au se sy m p to m s a n d illn e ss.
and P re v e n tio n a n n o u n c e d T u e s ­ th e m o u th ; it ta k es a b o u t 20 m in ­
Since 2006, the C D C has re c o m ­
day.
u tes fo r a p re lim in a ry re su lt. T he m e n d ed th a t all A m e ric a n s ag es
"W e b elie v e w e can re a ch m o re te st m a k e r say s it's c o rre c t 99 p e r­ 13 to 6 4 g et te ste d at le ast o n c e,
p e o p le by m a k in g te stin g m o re c e n t o f the tim e. If th e te st is p o s i­ no t ju s t th o se c o n sid e re d at h ig h ­
a c c e ss ib le an d re d u c e the stig m a tiv e fo r th e A ID S v iru s, p h a rm a cy e st risk : g ay m en an d in tra v e n o u s
a ss o c ia te d w ith H IV ," D r. K ev in e m p lo y e e s w ill re fe r c u sto m e rs to d ru g u sers. B ut fe w e r th a n h a lf o f
Walgreen's pharmacy manager Sarah Freedman stands in her store
in Washington, Tuesday, June26,2012. Would you go to a pharmacy
to get tested for the AIDS virus? Health officials want to know. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday announced
a $1.2 million pilot project to offer free rapid HIV tests at pharmacies
and clinics in 24 cities and rural communities. (AP Photo)
A CENTER OF
EXCELLENCE FOR
WOMEN THROUGHOUT
ALL STAGES OF LIFE.
r
WOMEN’S HEALTHCARE
ASSOCIATES uè
Same great people, great new name.
Make an appointment and come by to see
us in our Eastbank office and Tabor office.
EASTBANK
501 N. GRAHAM,
SUITE 525
PORTLAND, OR 97227
PHONE: (503) 249-5454
TABOR
5050 HOYT STREET,
SUITE 359
PORTLAND, OR 97213
PHONE: (503) 249-5454
a d u lts y o u n g e r th an 65 h a v e been
te ste d , a c c o rd in g to th e a g e n c y 's
m o st re c e n t sta tistic s.
E a c h lo c a tio n w ill g et e n o u g h
te sts to c h e c k 2 0 0 to 3 0 0 p e o p le.
M ad e by O ra S u re T e c h n o lo g ie s
In c ., th e $ 1 7 .5 0 te st is th e o nly
g o v e rn m e n t-a p p ro v e d ra p id H IV
te st th a t u ses saliv a. O th e r ra p id
te sts o n th e m a rk e t a n a ly z e a fin ­
g e r-p ric k b lo o d sam p le. T h e tests
a re u sed ro u tin e ly in d o c to r's o f­
fic e s, h o s p ita ls an d c lin ic s.
T h e O ra S u re sw a b te st's s tic k ­
lik e te stin g d e v ic e is u sed to w ipe
th e in sid e o f th e m o u th , th e n it is
p u t in a so lu tio n , said c o m p a n y
sp o k esm an R o n T ich o . If tw o lines
a p p e a r, th a t in d ic a te s a p o sitiv e
te s t.
T h e te st is so ld in a b o u t 4 0
c o u n trie s, in clu d in g M exico, Italy,
S o u th K o re a an d S o u th A frica.
T ic h o sa id h e is n o t a w are o f a n ­
o th e r c o u n try w h e re p h a rm a c ie s
ro u tin e ly o ffe r th e te stin g .
T h e c o m p a n y is se e k in g g o v ­
e rn m e n t a p p ro v a l to sell it o v e r-
th e -c o u n te r fo r h o m e te stin g . A
d e cisio n is e x p e c te d la te r th is year.