Question: I have just been diagnosed as having glaucoma. My mother had it too. What causes this disease?
Your eyeball contains a transparent liquid that has the consistency of half-set jelly. This liquid is produced by special cells that sit just behind the iris (the colored part of the eye). There is a slow circulation of this fluid around the eyeball and out through the pupil to the area in front of the iris. Here the fluid is absorbed back into the bloodstream.
The fluid in the eyeball is under pressure to maintain the shape of the eye and prevent distortion of the light waves entering the eye. If the pressure of the fluid increases, the light-sensitive cells inside the eye will be damaged and vision will decrease possibly to the point of blindness. Glaucoma is the disease caused by an increase in the pressure of the fluid in the eye. The most common type of glaucoma has a slow onset over many months or years. The patient may not be aware that there is anything wrong unless a routine test by a doctor detects it.
Unfortunately, the first symptom is often deteriorating vision, and by then it may be impossible to reverse the existing damage, but any further damage can be prevented by the correct treatment. There is an hereditary tendency to this type of glaucoma, and anyone who has parents with glaucoma should have their eyes checked every couple of years after the age of 35.

Question: What is color blindness?
The normal form of color blindness is an inability to differentiate between the colors red and green. In some men, other colors may be involved, but only rarely is all color vision lost with the person seeing in black and white. Color blindness is hereditary, and occurs nearly always in men.
Special cards covered in colored dots, with numbers hidden amongst the dots, are used by doctors to diagnose the condition. There is no treatment available, but most patients can live quite happily with the problem, and may have adapted so completely to the problem, that they are not aware of its existence. Those planning a to work as an electrician or commercial pilot, or in some other areas where color differentiation is vital, may not be allowed to undertake these careers.

Question: It is of very great import to me doctor that you reply, because I’ve been suffering from noises in my ears for twelve years. I’m also going deaf. I’ve been to specialists and they say there is nothing to be done. Please can you help me?
I believe that you are suffering from Meniere’s disease. Meniere was a physician in Paris in the early part of the nineteenth century who described a syndrome that consisted of dizziness, deafness and a constant noise in the ears. The exact cause is not known, but there is usually a build-up in the pressure of the fluid inside the hearing and balance mechanisms of the inner ear.
The most distressing symptom is the constant noise (tinnitus is the technical term) in the ear. This is usually a high-pitched ringing, but may be a dull roar in some people. Unfortunately, treatment is not very satisfactory, and new drugs and devices are constantly being tried to give relief. Among the drugs, Sere, Adalat and Minipress (all are available on prescription only), act to increase the blood supply to the inner ear, and have been successful in some people. Other drugs tried with varying success are various anti-histamines, diuretics, rochlorperazine, amitripryline and chlorpromazine (most are on prescription).
None of these have more than a 50-50 chance of success, but may be tried to see if they give relief. If medication*is successful in controlling the nausea and dizziness, but not the noises, a tinnitus masker may be beneficial. This is a hearing-aid type of device that is worn in the ear and emits a constant tone that counteracts the noise already heard in the ear. It may take some experimentation to find the right one for each patient, but with persistence, many can be helped. There are also micro surgical techniques to help the sufferers of Meniere’s disease.
Those who do suffer should not despair, but keep trying the various methods of treatment that are available, in the hope that one will suit them.